The Head thread.

ET2SN · 10-24-17, 12:20 PM

One of the more unique facets to submarine life revolved around a basic human need. Namely, what goes in MUST come out..somewhere.

It was where that something went after it left a body that started to get complicated.

The basic system on a fast attack or diesel boat was just that, basic. A bowl, a salt water spigot to fill it and a manual ball valve at the bottom that sure looked like it could withstand Test Depth.

From there, things flowed thanks to gravity to a collecting tank known as The San Tank or The Brown Water Tank.

It was this tank that made things complicated and, depending mostly on the menu in crew's mess, the san tank required periodic emptying.

On newer boats, that task was performed by an electrically driven pump. On older boats, and as a back-up on the newer boats, low pressure air was used to pressurize the tank to force the contents over board. Normally, it was the intrepid A-Ganger's

who owned this tank underway. In-port, that duty (heh heh..) belonged to the off-going Below Decks Watch.

As a freshly qualified Below Decks Watch on an older boat, guess what I had to do to celebrate completing my first Below Decks Watch? Yep, you guessed it.

My long-suffering in-port watch mentor was an FT named "Alf" (that nickname is WHOLE 'nother story unless you remember your 1980's TV shows) who just happened to be awake at 04:30. Not that Alf didn't trust me, but Alf didn't trust me. At least, not on *this* job.

So, I get everything lined up right. By The Book as it were. The head's sealed off and the entry way blocked? Check. Outer valves open and checked? Check. Topside watch notified and warned? Check. Air pressure slowly added to the tank to the recommended 25 PSI? Check. Indication of flow showing on the Tank Level gauge? Che-, uh, huh? No flow at 25 PSI. Great...
Alf just happens to wander by, not that he didn't trust me you understand, he just happened to be wandering at 04:35.

"Hey Alf, somethin ain't right.."
"No flow?"
"Yeah, I double checked the line up and its by-the-book."
"A good Below Decks knows the book is just a guide. Try more pressure."

Ohh kayyyyy..
I get it up 35 PSI, still no joy.
I squint real hard and get it up to 45 PSI and finally get an indication of flow.
Alf says, "Yeah, that happens sometimes.." and wanders off.
Topside calls down on the MC and says "Below decks, topside, HOO WHEE!!"

10-24-17, 12:20 PM	#1
ET2SN ET2/SS Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 2,512 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	The Head thread. One of the more unique facets to submarine life revolved around a basic human need. Namely, what goes in MUST come out..somewhere. It was where that something went after it left a body that started to get complicated. The basic system on a fast attack or diesel boat was just that, basic. A bowl, a salt water spigot to fill it and a manual ball valve at the bottom that sure looked like it could withstand Test Depth. From there, things flowed thanks to gravity to a collecting tank known as The San Tank or The Brown Water Tank. It was this tank that made things complicated and, depending mostly on the menu in crew's mess, the san tank required periodic emptying. On newer boats, that task was performed by an electrically driven pump. On older boats, and as a back-up on the newer boats, low pressure air was used to pressurize the tank to force the contents over board. Normally, it was the intrepid A-Ganger's who owned this tank underway. In-port, that duty (heh heh..) belonged to the off-going Below Decks Watch. As a freshly qualified Below Decks Watch on an older boat, guess what I had to do to celebrate completing my first Below Decks Watch? Yep, you guessed it. My long-suffering in-port watch mentor was an FT named "Alf" (that nickname is WHOLE 'nother story unless you remember your 1980's TV shows) who just happened to be awake at 04:30. Not that Alf didn't trust me, but Alf didn't trust me. At least, not on this job. So, I get everything lined up right. By The Book as it were. The head's sealed off and the entry way blocked? Check. Outer valves open and checked? Check. Topside watch notified and warned? Check. Air pressure slowly added to the tank to the recommended 25 PSI? Check. Indication of flow showing on the Tank Level gauge? Che-, uh, huh? No flow at 25 PSI. Great... Alf just happens to wander by, not that he didn't trust me you understand, he just happened to be wandering at 04:35. "Hey Alf, somethin ain't right.." "No flow?" "Yeah, I double checked the line up and its by-the-book." "A good Below Decks knows the book is just a guide. Try more pressure." Ohh kayyyyy.. I get it up 35 PSI, still no joy. I squint real hard and get it up to 45 PSI and finally get an indication of flow. Alf says, "Yeah, that happens sometimes.." and wanders off. Topside calls down on the MC and says "Below decks, topside, HOO WHEE!!"