# Pacing the plates and ant control .



## Derek Roger (Feb 19, 2005)

My late father commented on my habit , even when on leave ' of pacing up and down in what ever space I happened to be located.
His observation was that " It is a habit of jailbirds and marine engineers ; too much time spent on the engine room plates "

This in mind I spend about 2 hrs in the summer just walking around the patio and have utilised this wasted time in stamping on ants . The average "kill' rate is about 500 / day .

I have few if any ants on my pation now since the word has got around .

Am I all alone in this pest control method or are there other members out there like minded .

Derek


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## Billieboy (May 18, 2009)

I've a hedgehog and five families of blackbirds to keep the ants down! I spent enough time on the plates and never had a pacing problem!


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## Macphail (Oct 27, 2008)

Pacing the bottom plates by Chiefy, next to the meouvering stand, was normal, during Standby, before the the engine room control room.

John


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## Frank Holleran (Nov 11, 2005)

Pacing the boiler room plates on watch...and then on deck pacing back and forth, seemed to be a normal trait for a lot of down below crowd.


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## clevewyn (May 16, 2010)

I remember being shoved down the Boiler room on Ark Royal for a month, "time you had a break" the engineer said.

Most boring month I ever had.


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## Macphail (Oct 27, 2008)

*Do we still pace the plates*

(Thumb)I sailed as Chief Engineer from 1978 to 2001.
Always the engine room control room..
The Blue Flue and Bank Line, 1960 to 1974, with the bottom plates maneouvering stand.
During Standby, the Blue Flue chief would sometimes attend, sparkling white boilersuit and gloves, Bank line, never saw him.

Changed days, maybe.

John.


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## Derek Roger (Feb 19, 2005)

Billieboy said:


> I've a hedgehog and five families of blackbirds to keep the ants down! I spent enough time on the plates and never had a pacing problem!


Must have been sitting on your Butt Billieboy .


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## Malky Glaister (Nov 2, 2008)

Hi, I paced the plates. More so when control rooms became the thing. I always felt that I sensed what was happening. With the large engines you could keep yorself fit(Tish).
As Chief I would walk around the deck daily for excercise. I still walk miles every day but seldom on chequer plate,
regards
Malky Glaister


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## tsell (Apr 29, 2008)

Derek Roger said:


> My late father commented on my habit , even when on leave ' of pacing up and down in what ever space I happened to be located.
> His observation was that " It is a habit of jailbirds and marine engineers ; too much time spent on the engine room plates "
> 
> This in mind I spend about 2 hrs in the summer just walking around the patio and have utilised this wasted time in stamping on ants . The average "kill' rate is about 500 / day .
> ...


HI Derek

I share your feelings regarding the ant population. However my wife is just the opposite. (She is in most things!)

Here in Queensland we have been plagued with hordes of ant of all shapes and sizes throughout summer. Now herein lies a tale.

I have tried every form of eradication - when the missus was not around - to no avail. Even the trusty ant sand, which they carry away to their nests, did not work this year for some strange reason.

Threatening severe injury to my person if I harmed the bloody little pests, my wife said, "Leave them alone, they will soon be gone."

Now for the weird part. One morning about three weeks ago, walking into the family room just on daybreak, I noticed a dark stain on the tiles. It was huge, well over one and a half square metres. As I edged closer, I saw that there were thousands of ants all gathered in that one spot, seemingly having a pow-wow. Sounds ridiculous, eh?

I rushed into the laundry and grabbed a spray can and was about to let fly when a hand grabbed my neck and hauled me back! "DON"T YOU DARE!" said a stern voice. "They will soon be gone."

With that, as if they were aware of their peril, the horde moved as one under the lounge suite, showing no trace of their presence. I was ordered out of the room.

We lingered over breakfast and talked about it and I was informed that the same thing happened at the same time last year. Buggered if I remembered it!

An hour or so later we went back into the family room, gingerly lifted the furniture and there the little blighters were - GONE!! There are no more ants either inside or out on the patio and it's a case of 'wife happy - life happy!'

Maybe there's an entomologist out there who can explain the phenomenon.

PS you wouldn't be welcome in our house, Derek!

Taff


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## spongebob (Dec 11, 2007)

Taff, We have had a similar experiences although my partner is sometimes variable about selection and protection of nature's creatures. 
You know, stamp on an ant but spend the morning rescuing and drying a bee that has fallen into the swimming pool, Chiding me for eating "Skippy" when I try Kangaroo meat but savouring those little tender lamb chops herself.
Another one is her loving the little foreign geckos that invade the house and drop their leftovers everywhere but capable of picking up cane toads off the lawn and lobbing them to kingdom come (rubber gloved of course)
Yes I have used the ant sand with part success but they seem to become immune. 
As for pacing the plates, I never sailed in a ship modern enough to have a control room but my forte was to roam from the engine front down the port side right to the stern gland and back up starboard side. I forget the number of paces but a few rounds meant a lot of walking. On a night watch in calm seas it certainly was better than sitting drinking tea.
Today I do it in the garden, pacing the plates that is.

Bob


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## Billieboy (May 18, 2009)

Derek Roger said:


> Must have been sitting on your Butt Billieboy .


Not at all Derek, just never had the time to pace around, so never learned it. Suez Canal South stand by, was the best, eating shrimps on the plates, cooked in the tea boiler.


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## tsell (Apr 29, 2008)

Hi Bob

I watch with great amusement the morning ritual of debugging the pool with a strainer attached to a broomstick. No, it's not a mode of transport!
But your bit about Skippy is a bit close to home. I have been banned from buying it for years. However the other day I thought I would buy a quarter of goat, which has become very popular of late on the Gold Coast.
Well that did it, I forgot goats can be more cute and cuddly than 'roos!!
So it is languishing in the deep freeze until I can find someone to take it off my hands. It cost me $46 but it's free to a good home! Mind you it's been very quiet around the house lately, come to think of it!

Taff


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## chadburn (Jun 2, 2008)

Pacing around the Engineroom it may be, but mine/your eye's were alway's "on Watch" for anything different.


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## spongebob (Dec 11, 2007)

Yes Chadburn, all six senses were on the alert in those days, remember the loving hand that caressed and felt the warmth of each tail shaft plummer block as you wandered down the tunnel.
Today hearing is the dullest sense, sight is no longer 20/20, but taste and smell still allows us to enjoy a good meal. Touch? well that should always remain special.
We can thank goodness that we weren't locomotive engine drivers, not much space to pace on those plates .

Bob


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## spongebob (Dec 11, 2007)

Don't despair over that goat too soon Taff.
I think that I may have told this story before but a year or two ago we had a family member's birthday at "Kathmandu", an ethnic restaurant in Raby Bay. The format was that each diner selected a dish from the menu and then all servings went on the table for sharing.
I chose the goat, words of disappointment, even disgust, from the ladies and younger ones. "Bob how could you?" was one, while a deep male voice said "You are on your own mate"
The dishes arrived, handed around for sampling then served onto the plates and guess which was gone first?
They all enjoyed its tangy taste and fat free tenderness so much we ordered another serve!
Tell her that only devout vegetarianism or Veganism should prevent her trying it,

Bob


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## uisdean mor (Sep 4, 2008)

Still do it. Bus stops, meetings, conferences, funerals, weddings - anywhere there is a bit of hanging around. Drives the wife mental and she just does not get it. 
Rgds 
Uisdean


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## J Boyde (Apr 7, 2005)

I confess to walking the plates, regardless of the weather. A number of runs down the tunnel, and one on deck to the steering gear. Have done quite a few when holding on, and holding on harder as I came higher up the accomodation. The best shoes I wore in rough weather was plastic, the grip was better then leather shoes. On to power stations, again walking the plates, into the contril room, still walking the plates. Now retired and still go out for an hour walk every day. Now it is the walk that keeps me mobile, and meeting interesting people, (pluss a nice stick, dont like being bitten)
Jim B


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## allanc (Aug 19, 2005)

My sailing mate, former British Merchant Marine during WW2 has described to me exactly the same pacing phenomenon on the bridge. There can't be too many walking options on board ship. We don't do it on my little yacht,nowhere to go!


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## degsy (Jun 16, 2008)

I sailed with a Second on the Onitsha who paced up and down the maneuvering platform, at quite a pace, muttering to himself. Then he would suddenly dart off and look at some job or other. Weird, it fascinated the ER crowd, worried me a bit till I got used to him.


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## Michael Taylor (Aug 31, 2008)

I admit to pacing. Cannot sit still. Pacing from one wing to the other or half a wing in bad weather, is a difficult habit to break from even after so many years!


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## kewl dude (Jun 1, 2008)

I began on the Great Lakes 1960 I was a coalpasser on a built in 1912 Laker still mostly original equipment, 1961 a wiper on a T2. 1962/63 as fireman/watertender on a C4 I was taught to pace my space. Walk around and watch for problems. Check the water gauge glasses on both boilers observe the bailey board up close always watching. Walk around the boilers. 

1964/65 as an oiler on a geared turbine Great Laker built in 1954 I was required to do a round of the entire engine room before relieving the watch. Begin in the stack checking the DC heater then walk around the whole plant including the steering gear room, the upper and lower engine and boiler rooms to the stern tube. 

On the Lakers the oiler made an hourly written temperature round recording in ballpoint ink temperatures and pressures on an overlong clipboard. Again inspecting the entire plant. Watch engineers also made a round of the plant before accepting the watch. Now and then one found something amiss and reported that before relieving the watch. Once you relieved it was your problem. 

Offshore oilers and engineers made a round before relieving the watch but only one written temperature round at the midpoint of the watch. As a watch engineer I wandered around the plant sticking my oiler with staying at the throttle. Some liked that some didn't. Walking around the plant often meant we found a problem before it became a bigger problem. 

Once as an oiler I found the main boiler water feed pump electric motor coupling end bearing glowing white hot. I dashed up to the throttle to find that only the f/wt was there not only the other oiler but none of the engineers were there. Turned out there was problem up forward on deck and all the engineers were there.

So I secured the main engine and told the f/wt that I was switching to the standby steam turbine powered feed pump and did so. I was bringing the turbine back up to speed when I was inundated by five engineers - the folks in the pilot house realized we were slowing so went and told the engineers. 

The 1 A/E was a screamer and he was right in my face what the F*** are you doing. The C/E pushed the 1 A/E aside and told him and the other engineers to go the engine room office. Then he asked me calmly what I was doing. 

So I told him and showed him and he said to me if I face that kind of thing again to just ring up stop on the ER telegraph and ignore the sound powered phone that would immediately ring and do what I needed to do. And that is what I always did when faced with that situation.

Greg Hayden


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## gwzm (Nov 7, 2005)

Hi Derek,

Could have done with you on Manaar. "Sparks, the barnacle buster isn't working." No bl$$dy wonder. The box with the switching mechanism was full of dead and decomposing ants which shorted all the transducers together. The poor old transmitter had been trying to fire all of them together instead of one at a time until it went belly up.
On Mahseer, if I recall correctly, the engineers' entertainment was to leave a piece of toast on the plates and see how long it took to be transported away on the back of a phalanx of ants.
Happy days,
gwzm


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## JohnBP (Mar 27, 2008)

I enjoyed "full away" and on watch walking up and down the side of the engine (Diesel)... I felt as if I had exercise and could remonise on home, wife and leave..


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