# coasters



## sam.todd

Never sailed on a coaster, normally how many ranks were there.


----------



## robinhood_1984

Depends what era you're thinking of. I worked on 3 German coasters and 1 British one between 2000-2004 and on all of them there was a Captain and Mate, 2 Deckhands and a cook. No engineers. 

When my father worked on German coasters between 1966-73 I think there was a Captain, mate, engineer, two or three deckhands and a cook. Smaller ships with larger crews, but there was also much more work and skill involved in day to day operation of the ships.


----------



## Alistair Macnab

*Coaster Crew...*

In 1953 there was a Captain, Mate, Bosun, and two deck hands in the deck department and two engineers and three firemen down below. In addition there was the cook who took weekly money from all of us to buy victuals and make the meals. 

I was the Deck Boy and shared the port half of the focsl with the AB and the three firemen accommodated in the starboard half. Master and Mate were down below in the raised quarterdeck of the amidships house and the Bosun occupied the cabin immediately below the wheelhouse. The cook and the engineers were aft in the fidley house on the raised poop with the galley immediately abaft the cross coal bunker.

Vessel was the s.s. "Beryl" (coal burner) of Robertsons of Glasgow. We carried household coal from Scotland to Ireland and the Western Islands and occasionally slate(?) from LLandulas to Glasgow.

It was a Summer job I shall long remember with great pleasure. Convinced me I should go deep sea and joined Andrew Weirs' as an Apprentice, much to the disappointment of my parents but turned out to be a great career move. There, we had 42 crew made up of Serangs, Tindals, Cassabs, Secunnies, Topasses and Bhandaries, not to mention Tailwallahs in the ER.


----------



## Kaiser Bill

My last coaster on the NZ coast in April 1965 was Master, Mate, 2nd Mate 3 Engineers, Donkeyman, Cook, Steward, 5 ABs, and 1 OS. Total of 15 crew. (Smoke)


----------



## billyboy

In the 60's there was a captain, Mate, Bosun, 2 deck hands, 2 engineers, a greaser and a cook. we all paid the cook each week


----------



## Bill A

In the late sixties early seventies on non federated coasters there were a skipper, mate, two deckhand's and a cook if you were lucky.


----------



## Engine Serang

The Vital Spark had a crew of 4.
Alistair you can add Agwallah's and a Paniwallah down below.
Current Safe Manning for a 3500 GT multipurpose coaster would be 6: Master, Mate, Engineer, AB, AB-Oiler and AB-Cook. If trading in NW Europe it is almost impossible to ensure the Hours of Rest and MLC 2006 regulations are met without additional personnel. Good ship managers add a Second Officer and a Bosun to the crew to prevent fatigue, but as is only too usual the unscrupulous manager operates with the minimum. Need any more be said?


----------



## Somerton

In 1960 the Pladda had master ,mate 2nd mate ,2 engineers ,bosun , 2 ab,s 1 ordinary seaman and cook . Also donkey an in the engine room . Western Coast had master , mate , 2nd mate ,2 engineers, bosun ,3 seamen , donkeyman and cook .
Alex .c .


----------



## spongebob

What defines a coaster? Is it the gross tonnage , power plant or just the route?
NZ Union steamship coasters carried the master, three mates, four engineers, an electrician, Three motormen (greasers) three stewards , two cooks and perhaps eight or more ABs .

Bob


----------



## Kaiser Bill

spongebob said:


> What defines a coaster? Is it the gross tonnage , power plant or just the route?
> NZ Union steamship coasters carried the master, three mates, four engineers, an electrician, Three motormen (greasers) three stewards , two cooks and perhaps eight or more ABs .
> 
> Bob


 Down here Bob, coasters were ships that signed home trade articles and just paddled round the coast. (Smoke)


----------



## Aberdonian

"Crew Agreements, detailed contracts between a seaman and his employer, carried on beyond 1857, and provide greater information about the crew, apprentices, ships and voyages. 
For ships engaged in the home trade (coasters and fishing vessels, operating in UK coastal waters, or from the UK to North European and Baltic ports) records of agreements were submitted twice a year and usually include a list of all sailings and arrivals for the half-year. 
Agreements for vessels in the foreign trade were submitted at the end of each voyage and do not include this information, just a general voyage description with dates."
_National Museums Liverpool_

An old term, "Brest to Elbe", regarding Home Trade limits (?), is rattling about in my mind but I can't pin it down and so could well be false. 

Keith


----------



## BobClay

I sailed as a sparky on the Horsham, a Stephenson Clarke 'Flattie.' She was just over the limit that required a sparky, but in all fairness there really wasn't much work to do, and considering I was doing the second three months of my junior time, it didn't do me much good either ... although I did enjoy it.
She sailed in the main from the Northeast Coast to the Thames, occasionally would pop across to Amsterdam for grain. One trip we went deep sea and sailed through the Dover Strait to Southampton, a dark place beyond the Gates of Mordor according to the mostly Geordie crew. A Captain, two mates, two engineer and myself. The crew were four or five I think.


----------



## lakercapt

Alistair Macnab said:


> iIn 1
> 
> Vessel was the s.s. "Beryl" (coal burner) of Robertsons of Glasgow. We carried household coal from Scotland to Ireland and the Western Islands and occasionally slate(?) from LLandulas to Glasgow.


If it was Robertsons of Glasgow Alistair in LLandulas you would load limestone from their quarry there.


----------



## lakercapt

When I was in Robertsons we had as crew
Master and two mates
Three engineers
Bosun and three deckhands
Cook and one steward.
These so called coasters went form North Norway to Medi and were on foreign going agreement!!!


----------



## sam2182sw

Hi on some of them now you don't get a cook you get one or two microwaves ovens sam2182sw


----------



## sibby

The coasters I sailed on had master, mate, chief and second engineer, two ab,s ordinary seaman and cook. We paid grub money each week to the skipper who then gave it to the cook. I think home trade was from the Ushant to the Elbe.


----------



## granty

Hi
I was in the Warwickbrook in 69 and the crew consisted of Master Mate 2nd Mate,Chief Eng 2nd Eng Donkeyman Bosan 3 ABs Cook and the Gallyboy
You were deducted £2 a week old money for your grub 5 shillings a week old money for the Television the company put 14 shillings a week per person towards the grub if the cook spent to much it came out of the Masters pocket so now and again you were on a diet till the master got his money back
An AB was on about £15 a week overtime 6 shillings and 2p an hour
Granty


----------



## D1566

'Vauban' of Kernow Shipping, 283grt(?), 1978; Master, Mate, 1 AB, 1 Deck Boy.


----------



## Barrie Youde

# 7

The Vital Spark had "four men and a derrick"!

In British & Continental ss Co (1965) we even had three Mates, of which I was the Third, trading West Coast UK to the Low Countries.


----------



## Robert Hilton

The Home Trade was The Elbe to Brest. Limited European Area is now approximately Narvik to Gibraltar. I agree with previous posts about manning.


----------



## Aberdonian

When with General Steam in the 60s, I recall that small, competitive Dutch “Skuts” were thought to be partly responsible for major reductions in the UK coaster fleet.

Keith


----------



## Kaiser Bill

We have a coaster here of 375 GRT that has a Master, Mate, Watchkeeper and an Engineer. (Smoke)


----------



## trotterdotpom

I was on a coaster called Esso Mersey (around 25000 tons).There were stacks of us on board.

John T


----------



## spongebob

Kaiser Bill said:


> Down here Bob, coasters were ships that signed home trade articles and just paddled round the coast. (Smoke)


Right Bill, I am forgetting all those smaller coasters owned by Anchor, Northern, Wilsons and Holm lines etc.
Union co had all their colliers plus the Katui and Karamu dedicated to home trade but manned by full strength crews as for the foreign traders 
Checking my discharge certificates I see that one of mine issued while on the collier Kaitangata is stamped "Home Trade" while another is stamped "Foreign going" , all while plodding to and from thr West coast. Take your pick!

Bob


----------



## R.kearsley

when sailing with Marpro of london there was the old man,mate,self and another engineer,cook,and four AB's on the Mariyos City running UK - spain-med,while the Mariyos 1, think had old man,mate,self,3Ab's and one of them did the cooks job,she ran between Dean Quarry and the Thames with rock


----------



## janmike

Janmike

As most will know that when Shell and others were lightening other tankers the Drupa was coasting around the North Sea and channel at 70 000 tons!!! There were a few even bigger


----------



## Alistair Macnab

*Robertson Coasters...*

You are perfectly correct, Lakercapt. The cargo loaded at Llandulas was limestone in bulk. The ship ran up to a small pier headed in and was on the gravelly bottom at low tide. Discharge was in the Rothesay Docks in Glasgow. Just one of the exciting experiences for a boy during his Summer holidays from school. The Master, if I remember correctly, was a young man, Captain Campbell, who seemed to be a cut above many on board. I came from Ayr and knew quite a bit about coasters and colliers as my school was dockside and I was in the Sea Cadets. I like to think I was not entirely useless. I could take the wheel during the 4 on/4 off as I had my quartermaster's ticket obtained from Sea Cadet training in Portsmouth.
Best regards. I enjoy your contributions.
Alistair(now in Houston TX and in the USA since 1968)


----------



## lakercapt

Alistair Macnab said:


> You are perfectly correct, Lakercapt. The cargo loaded at Llandulas was limestone in bulk. The ship ran up to a small pier headed in and was on the gravelly bottom at low tide. Discharge was in the Rothesay Docks in Glasgow. Just one of the exciting experiences for a boy during his Summer holidays from school. The Master, if I remember correctly, was a young man, Captain Campbell, who seemed to be a cut above many on board. I came from Ayr and knew quite a bit about coasters and colliers as my school was dockside and I was in the Sea Cadets. I like to think I was not entirely useless. I could take the wheel during the 4 on/4 off as I had my quartermaster's ticket obtained from Sea Cadet training in Portsmouth.
> Best regards. I enjoy your contributions.
> Alistair(now in Houston TX and in the USA since 1968)


Thanks Alistair for that.
I learned a great deal during my time on Robbies boats and shiphandling that was a thing that was one of the most important for my later career up in thea Lakes.
I must admit that many a time it was a bum puckering ride going in to that jetty at LLandulas and often was glad to leave when the winds increased from the NW.


----------



## RogertheLodger

Summer 1959...G.S.N.C's 'Alouette' 276 grt (engaged on the London - Cologne trade. Spent most of our time swanning around the rivers Thames, Maas, and Rhine, with only 3 or 4 days at sea each month and a 'docking bottle' every fortnight...t'was heaven). As I recall she carried a Master, Mate, 2 Engineers, a Bosun, 3 Ab's, 1 O.S (or boy), and a Cook.


----------



## barrypriddis

In the 60s and 70s total Manning on Everard's 1599GRT was 12. Master, mate, 2nd mate, chief engineer, 2nd engineer, 3rd engineer, 4 seaman, cook and steward.


----------



## callpor

trotterdotpom said:


> I was on a coaster called Esso Mersey (around 25000 tons).There were stacks of us on board.
> 
> John T


Esso Mersey was my last ship as Master before coming ashore and she was 20510 DWT. If I recall correctly we had about 25 crew? She was one of the smaller vessels in the Esso UK intermediate group of "coasters" which included two lightering tankers, N Sea off-loaders and two 250000 VLCC's! Chris


----------



## barrypriddis

20000DWT a coaster?? Yes, employed on coastal trade to deep sea ports but not a coaster as understand it.


----------



## Bubba3

Only on 2 both had capt. mate, 2 abs 1cook 1 eng.=6
and both great fun


----------



## inandaship

Lapthorn's 1992 trading UK-Near Continent,Skipper, Mate, three on deck one acting as Cook, no Engineers = 5. Fatigue was the name of the game!


----------

