TOP WATCH

As a new Non-Rate of the Engineering Department aboard Acushnet you have to get qualified as an underway Top watch stander. This process includes learning many of the systems aboard the ship such as Lube Oil, Fuel Oil, Potable Water, Fire Main, Secondary and Main Drainage, Raw Water, Ship Service Air and of course how all these systems correlate together in running the cutter's 4 Main Diesel Engines. The qualification includes standing break-in watches, several schematic drawings, Practical factors (Sign-offs), an oral board, and a successful completion of BECCE'S (Basic Engineering Casualty Control Exercises). There is a huge amount of information and knowledge that must be acquired to stand this watch effectively. A new member must take this qualification seriously because in the end it's just you and an engine room full of machinery. You have to know what's going on so that you can effectively react when a casualty occurs.



FN COLBY K. SCOTT