Boatnerd Discussion Forum

This only works with an empty cargo hold. The pellets (any cargo) would block the intakes.

I believe they would have been pumping the ballast tanks and nothing to block intakes there. As far as vents some were missing due to ??? If they tried to pump ballast and could not get suction they would try tank that produced pressure and so pumped water over side to reduce list...

FWE wrote:Most straight deckers had the ability to use their ballast pumps to pump out the aft most cargo hold. I will check my information about her piping to ascertain this .

This only works with an empty cargo hold. The pellets (any cargo) would block the intakes.

Most straight deckers had the ability to use their ballast pumps to pump out the aft most cargo hold. I will check my information about her piping to ascertain this .

Before operating ballast pumps would someone need to go out on deck to open ballast tank vents?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zcxa4udzcbxl4 ... 9.pdf?dl=0

http://newsearch.boatnerd.com/viewtopic ... ld#p198855

As I recall, there are 2 pumps per compartment and she had 3 compartments. Understand that pumps are easily clogged with a multitude of materials. Just because McSorely said that he had both running, didnt mean that both were running at optimum levels. There is probably not enough auxiliary to run all the pumps at once as they take a lot of power to run. And no one was allowed out on deck because the seas were continuously washing over the spar deck and there were no lines deployed to the aft deckhouse (the practice might have been disused by this time).

I don't mean to bring up the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking again as it has been widely discussed over the years but something has bothered me about the accident concerns the ballast tank pumps. McSorley reportedly said something to the effect of, “I have both on,” when answering an inquiry if he had his ballast pumps running. From what I have read, the Fitzgerald had at least three ballast pumps available (some sources claim six). As he only mentioned the two pumps running does this indicate in which ballast tanks he was taking on water? What was the piping arrangement of the pumps that he could only use two in this situation? Did the ship have enough auxiliary power to run all these pumps at once if needed? When pumping out the ballast tanks is there any reason for someone to go out and perform any task on the deck?