Being a rated "Hull Maintenance Technician" is not as glorified sounding as the name might suggest. HTs evolved from ship’s Carpenters, Damage Controlman, Shipfitters and Pipefitters.
When the ships were made of wood and the men were made of iron, Carpenters were responsible for the watertight integrity and structural soundness of the ship’s hull, masts, spars, small boat repairs, and when some old goat would retire, they’d make ‘em a flag box as a going away present.
Then someone got the bright idea to make ships out of iron. So now we have to create Shipfitters (Metal-smiths, Tin-benders or Hammer Mechanics) to do metal working and repairs of the ship’s hull. This made the Carpenters jealous so the Navy started calling Ship’s Carpenters, "Damage Controlman." If a hull sprung a leak, let the DC man handle it. If the ship caught fire, let the DC man handle it (after all, all they’re good for anymore is making an occasional flag box for some old goat’s retirement party.)
Along with iron plate constructed hulls came pipes for containing and shipping, water, oil and gas. Then some smart-Alec came up with the idea of introducing indoor plumbing into ship’s construction. If the truth be known, it was probably some skylarking Boatswain’s Mate or Marine that read a picture of a new fangled water closet in a Sears and Roebuck catalog. At one time it was a very convenient to have so many places and ways to relieve one’s self. But with the advent of the water closet, no longer could a swabbie do his business over the rail, off a spar, down a hawser pipe, into the bilge or even on a coil of line. Now he’d have to run from one end of the ship to the other just to wait in a long line at the crew’s designated water closet, because some Boatswain’s Mate or Marine isn’t finished reading the Sear’s Catalog yet. Then when it did come your turn to use the water closet, the guy before you would leave you in haste with a big grin on his face, knowing the closet was now clogged with a big steaming heap that wouldn’t go down the pipe. So now they had to create a new fangled rating just to unclog the ship’s water closets, no one else would do it! The Navy’s Admiralty decided to call these new sailors, Pipefitters.
Pretty soon the Pipefitters had the run of the ship, from stem to stern, officer’s country to below decks. Pipefitters were the only snipes ever allowed into officer’s country, until the creation of electricity(we’re not going there today.) Unclogging water closets is all the Pipefitter ever did. For all of those emergency trips made into officer’s country heads, Pipefitters would go bald from all of the pats they’d get on their heads. Ship Captains looked favorably upon the Pipefitters for they were the masters of the water closet. Maybe the Captain called him a Pipefitter, but everyone else started calling him the "Turd Chaser."
The Damage Controlman, and Shipfitters must have complained the most. They were foolish for being so jealous of the Pipefitter, because when the Navy’s Admiralty tired of hearing of this all this discontent, they established "The New Navy." They wanted their sailors to have more fun. So one of the many new things they did was to combine these malcontent ratings into specialist "Hull Maintenance Technicians." In reality the Shipfitters, Damage Controlman and Pipefitters were all turned into professional "Turd Chasers." Of course, being a Hull Maintenance Technician didn’t sit well with the prima donna Carpenter types, because they had little time left to concentrate on making their little flag boxes.
Years later, a Newer Navy Admiralty conceded and allowed the whiny Ship’s Carpenters to have their Damage Controlman rating back as they broke ranks with the HTs. Rumor has it that their flag boxes were starting to smell like little aromatic water closets.
dz
When the ships were made of wood and the men were made of iron, Carpenters were responsible for the watertight integrity and structural soundness of the ship’s hull, masts, spars, small boat repairs, and when some old goat would retire, they’d make ‘em a flag box as a going away present.
Then someone got the bright idea to make ships out of iron. So now we have to create Shipfitters (Metal-smiths, Tin-benders or Hammer Mechanics) to do metal working and repairs of the ship’s hull. This made the Carpenters jealous so the Navy started calling Ship’s Carpenters, "Damage Controlman." If a hull sprung a leak, let the DC man handle it. If the ship caught fire, let the DC man handle it (after all, all they’re good for anymore is making an occasional flag box for some old goat’s retirement party.)
Along with iron plate constructed hulls came pipes for containing and shipping, water, oil and gas. Then some smart-Alec came up with the idea of introducing indoor plumbing into ship’s construction. If the truth be known, it was probably some skylarking Boatswain’s Mate or Marine that read a picture of a new fangled water closet in a Sears and Roebuck catalog. At one time it was a very convenient to have so many places and ways to relieve one’s self. But with the advent of the water closet, no longer could a swabbie do his business over the rail, off a spar, down a hawser pipe, into the bilge or even on a coil of line. Now he’d have to run from one end of the ship to the other just to wait in a long line at the crew’s designated water closet, because some Boatswain’s Mate or Marine isn’t finished reading the Sear’s Catalog yet. Then when it did come your turn to use the water closet, the guy before you would leave you in haste with a big grin on his face, knowing the closet was now clogged with a big steaming heap that wouldn’t go down the pipe. So now they had to create a new fangled rating just to unclog the ship’s water closets, no one else would do it! The Navy’s Admiralty decided to call these new sailors, Pipefitters.
Pretty soon the Pipefitters had the run of the ship, from stem to stern, officer’s country to below decks. Pipefitters were the only snipes ever allowed into officer’s country, until the creation of electricity(we’re not going there today.) Unclogging water closets is all the Pipefitter ever did. For all of those emergency trips made into officer’s country heads, Pipefitters would go bald from all of the pats they’d get on their heads. Ship Captains looked favorably upon the Pipefitters for they were the masters of the water closet. Maybe the Captain called him a Pipefitter, but everyone else started calling him the "Turd Chaser."
The Damage Controlman, and Shipfitters must have complained the most. They were foolish for being so jealous of the Pipefitter, because when the Navy’s Admiralty tired of hearing of this all this discontent, they established "The New Navy." They wanted their sailors to have more fun. So one of the many new things they did was to combine these malcontent ratings into specialist "Hull Maintenance Technicians." In reality the Shipfitters, Damage Controlman and Pipefitters were all turned into professional "Turd Chasers." Of course, being a Hull Maintenance Technician didn’t sit well with the prima donna Carpenter types, because they had little time left to concentrate on making their little flag boxes.
Years later, a Newer Navy Admiralty conceded and allowed the whiny Ship’s Carpenters to have their Damage Controlman rating back as they broke ranks with the HTs. Rumor has it that their flag boxes were starting to smell like little aromatic water closets.
dz
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