SO should we revisit the school of the boat once more?

[Mike]

I think I figured it out when I went to the Drum... crew's mess overhead near the galley?

[Darrin]

You got it, it is located in the Crews Mess in the Overhead which is at the aft side of the Galley, one thing to remember is that the pass through openings on WWII boats were changed throughout the years and from boat to boat.. There are boats that had no pass through windows and others have a space that even I can fit through at 6'3" and not hurt myself getting through...

What has been taught on here and what is in the submarine manual is kind of "generic" because every boat is different inside in very small ways and that is what makes them unique and special IMHO, there is no "true" manual for 1 class of submarine that will work 100% of the time no matter what unlike a "Chiltons Manual" for x year and type of car or truck.

With that being said, while there are those on here whom know or those whom think that they know (I kinda fall into the latter part) unless they crawl top to bottom on them and have hand traced every system out on their boat they will really never know what they truly have in front of them.

[Mike]

Thanks, Darrin...

I sorta figured that there were a lot of differences in the boats... EB/Cramp/Mare Island/Manitowoc differences aside, the nature of the boats were continuously evolving, much like anything else that is used heavily. Perhaps this is what is so interesting about the "school of the boat" - knowledge/insight that wouldn't be as easy to share without the internet is being "documented" before it is lost. It's a shame that this ability wasn't available 30-40 years ago...

"...Or those whom think that they know unless they crawl top to bottom on them and have traced every system out on their boat..."
I like this... I like it a lot for all of the reasons that the average person would probably never understand why most of the people reading this do what they do for their boats (and others, if you really think of it).

[Soapbox]
One of the things I took from my 13 total years in Hawaii was the importance on oral history as well as the critical need for intelligent preservation of that which works. For example, the art of hula and surfing were forbidden by early Protestant missionaries... yet they lived on. Most impressively, man by the name of Nainoa Thompson recently re-taught himself Polynesian navigational techniques that were not taught for several generations. I could go on, but you folks are intelligent and somewhat busy, therefore you get the idea.

What is done here is - to me - still in the same spirit of preserving through words. No, there isn't one manual for all boats - but there are contributors to this bulletin board that form a loose sort of hive mind on the topic... whether it be a discussion of critical MBT issues, what to do about cooling water for operational engines, or even keeping the discussion on the topic at hand... whatever. It seems that the answer is out there and if it isn't, then someone has a copy of a long-lost manual or remembers a conversation with someone about that and the answer willbe forthcoming.

...Point is, I - for one - thoroughly enjoy the "School of the Boat" and hope that it goes on. Not only for the present, but for that question 20 years from now when someone gets the funding to put a boat back to sea again... lol