I concur.

True, but I don’t see Bill as the “deluded superman” I referred to, but a dedicated and proud engineer.

I would love to do so. I have much written down already. As far as my memory is concerned, I still remember most of the serial number of the Engine of the Diana (<<<Enchanter,).
The main engine was a Perkins T6,-354 meaning it was turbocharged ( with turbo made by the company " Holset,"; the engine had a displacement of
354 cubic inches, the tranny was a hydraulic tranny made for boats called a ",Velvet Drive made by GM etc tell you all about the variable pitch propellor system as I rebuilt/ and/ or redesgned it in drydock.
The generator was originally made by Petters but was replaced by a ,,'<Vetus" engine made in the Netherlands which was basically a Mitsubishishi engine with a German transmission.
I personally had to remove and rebuild all of the above after the 1st Captain that was appointed; a man by the name of Thomas Schohenherr had been smoking dope in Freeport harbor before he sailed the boat to Curacao to meet the Freewinds the day before Maiden Voyage Anniversary. In I believe it was ,1990.
To be continued

I will; if I happen to live long enough.
If there is anyone out there who is interested, I will be happy to give them half of any money I could make if they would like to assist !e. Of course that is entirely up to you.

Jere Lull,

I’d board that aircraft without any reservations with Dead Man Talking Bill Straass at the controls.

Bill,

It sounds like you got:

Instant Hatting… “a sort of an action you do when you slam somebody onto a post and he’s got to take the load of it and so forth and you tell him what you want him to do. That’s just instant hatting. You tell him what his post title is and what he is supposed to be doing on that post. Instant hatting! Tell him to get on with it.”–FEBC 6, 7101C23 SO11.

I never did look up the definition of:

Repair Chief… “is in charge of all repairs, does only repairs and has under him electrical, electronics and plumbing as well as motors, machinery, etc. All non-watch electricians and electronics are under the Repair Chief.”–Flag Order 1958, 26 April 1969, “E/R [Engine Room] General Org”.

I lay odds that you had a happy engine room, Bill. I know that I had six happy weeks on The Freewinds in the late 1980’s. I can only imagine the grit and grind necessary to get that vessel to Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao (not to mention other ports).

You’ve been handed some impossible tasks. You are a survivor.

Thank you, Bill.

Hey Aqua,

Like most things associated with this criminal cult, “Ralph’s Rehydrated Water” is just ordinary tap water sold together with a bunch of LRH bullshit for $25 for a case of tiny bottles. The profit margin is almost as large as the bullshit margin.

Don’t ever buy this bullshit product. It is just as worthless as everything else associated with this fucked-up cult.

“Those guys are required my law …”

should be …

“Those guys are required by law …”

I hope I got that correct. Sorry if I am mistaken.

By the way, I love your posts. IMHO, you are hugely talented.