Assistant Engineer Danny Dugan takes us on a tour of the engine room as he checks and services the all-important propulsion system.
Starting aft of the engine room is the very end of the ship, a very cramped area called the lazarette. Here the hydraulic actuated rudder posts and steering gear are located.
Forward of the lazerette a few feet, we find the main engine room. A lot of very warm (hot) physical work goes on here in the engine room, where now we are below the water line. The all-important engine room houses the main propulsion system for Liberty Star, two main engines made by General Motors, providing a total of 2,900 horsepower turning two-six-foot propellers with controllable pitch. Controllable pitch provides greater response time and maneuverability. The engines generate 900 revolutions per minute (rpm) at full speed and at idle about 400 rpm. The Chief Engineer, Trish Hershock, and the Assistant Engineer, Danny Dugan, share continuous six-hour watches monitoring the engines.
In an earlier post you said the main engines were Detroit Diesel 871’s. At the time I read that, I was very skeptical, and seeing the engine room in this post caused me to do a search and find that:
Liberty Star
Ship Specifications
Main propulsion: Two General Motors (EMD) 12-645E6A diesel engines, combined 2,900 horsepower,
See: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167446main_SRBships06.pdf
I really enjoy your writing, and learning about this trip. I have spent time at sea with Detroit Diesel 871’s for power, and that detail just jumped out.
Thanks again for your stories from an interesting passage.
Capt. B. Nelson