Part Of My Work History

I'll never forget hearing Richard Kelley's call to his father. "Dad the Furuno side scan (color) sonar is showing we're sitting on Petrale Sole". They lowered the net and an hour later hauled up sixteen thousand pounds of fish. This was on it's MAIDEN voyage - supposedly to be a shakedown venture out beyond the "Black Can". They returned after four hours and totally plugged the harbor Schnaubelt fish processing plant. Nary an electrical problem. Talked to them six years later and replaced a 24 volt alternator voltage regulator in Oregon. The vessel is still going strong, but it drags so fast, no fish escape the net and the damned thing near clear-cuts the ocean. The title of the beast is "Mid Water Dragger". After plugging every fish processing plant on the West Coast, it went north into Joint Venture fishing with the Soviet Union processors catching Hake. Was a good looking boat then, and now. The image is not mine. I found it late yesterday and it put a smile on my face.

Complicated? Yeah I guess. Three phase 480 and 240, plus 120 volts then 12 and 24 volt charging systems. In 2004, the then skipper told me the electrical system on the vessel was regionally legendarily famous for reliability. The outside lighting and electric engine control stations suffered no corrosion problems - not even on the flying bridge. The mast lighting was soldered, HIM heat shrinked and then capped with hot tar. I did not screw around.