Towards 7:45 A.M., the men had to move toward the pier
head. The dock workers who had been dispatched directly to
the dock walker now received their assignment, as did the late
arrivals to the gangs or ship walker. The day began in earnest
when at 8:00 A.M. the ship walker hollered, "O.K., men, let's go."
As the shipboard men streamed onto the stringer of the dock,
the dock men for the gangs were raising the doors of the cargo
shed along the length of the vessel. They then proceeded to
locate and ready the stevedore gear and dock equipment which
would be required. Having cleared their immediate work area of
any debris and having constructed a suitable seat (or "house")
for themselves, they would presently stand ready to secure the
"save-all" (i.e., a cargo net which is slung between the dock and
a vessel so as to prevent a dock man or any spilled cargo from
falling into the water). Meanwhile, and on the basis of the
information given them by the clerk with whom they would be
working, the other dock workers were "setting up" for the
palletizing and de-palletizing of cargo.
Having ascended the gangway, the shipboard men moved to
their respective hatches via the inshore fore-and-aft passageway
on the weather deck. The members of each gang then proceeded
to rig the ship's gear which they would be using. Essentially,
this consisted of "spotting" or positioning the two cargo booms
through the use of wire rope preventers and rope guys. With the
assistance of the dock men—whose position allowed them a
better sighting-the inshore or yard boom was spotted over the
dock. As a rule, the offshore boom or midship boom was
spotted just offshore the hatch. To facilitate the performance of
this work, half of the holdmen took responsibility for rigging
the yard boom, while the other half rigged the midship. Except
when operational circumstances might dictate otherwise, this
"inshore" and "offshore" division of the holdmen would
continue throughout the job.
Each of the booms was serviced by an independently
operated winch. By means of these winches, the wire ropes or
"falls" which passed through the block at the top end of each
boom might be independently lowered or hoisted.
|
|