Wurkin in the oil patch
Frogwatch
rigs in Wyoming when I was younger so thought it might be just what my
19 yr old son needs to get his head screwed on straight. Make some
money, see what real work is, see how rough people can really be and
THEN go to college.
So, found him the ideal job, no experience needed, 20 days on 10 off,
they pay for room and board while on, reasonable pay, work on rear
deck of boats setting anchors for drill rigs. They actually need
people. Went home and told my son to go online and apply.
"NO WAY, I dont want to do that", he says. "You just want to get rid
of me". To which I say, "Yeah, and so what, it's good money and you
are hardly earning anything right now".
He resists saying he's taking classes at community college and does
earn some money but I say 6 hours a semester is BS. I tell my wife
about this job and she sides with him saying "if he goes off on one of
those boats he'll lose his gf, you know how hard it was when you did
that stuff". I think, being only 19, he needs to lose the gf so I am
going to apply more pressure.
Wayne.B
Why not pay for him to go to school full time? Otherwise charge him
rent for living at home.
Our situation was slightly different but when my sons came back after
graduating college and wanting to live home, I made some rules:
They would have to pay a reasonable amount of rent and follow house
rules. I told them that I would hold the rent as a deposit against
graduate school expenses but they would lose it otherwise. That went
over like a lead baloon but my wife backed me up because of the
graduate school provision. They both moved out and got places of
their own within a short time and that was fine with me.
Bruce In Bangkok
<ohar...@mindspring.com> wrote:
When I graduated high school and decided to go to work rather then go
on to collage my father told me that, "now you're a man I expect
you'll be getting yourself a place and being independent". After
giving that some thought - hot damn! Doing my own laundry? No family
car to borrow? Where am I going to eat? I decided that collage, that
my parents were paying for, might be a better course of action :-)
Give the lad some independence - let him pay the bills.
Cheers,
Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)
thunder
Nothing for nothing, but I spent several years working on an offshore
drilling rig. It's not the type of job I would pressure anyone into
taking, let alone my son. It's one of the more dangerous jobs there is.
I enjoyed my time there, and found it fascinating work, but it was my
choice. If my son got hurt, or worse, because of my pressuring ... And,
frankly, when the seas kicked up, it was a lot safer on the rig, than it
was on a ready boat.
Joe
Setting anchors is mighty dangerious work, and being on deck is ground
zero.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b38woxy6IRc
A roustabout on a rig or deck hand on a supply or crewboat would be a
safer first step. He could also find a 4 point anchor boat or a
standby boat and work with the old men, and jr deckhands.
Being gone 20 days will test his relationship. He will find out if
his gf is for real or not.
Good Luck
Joe
Joe
RIP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQoRpJsrwsU&NR=1&feature=fvwp
Joe
Frogwatch
I spent several years being a drill stem tester and loved and hated
it. Because I had a BS in physics, the company had this weird idea
that I'd be great for all the truly f%$cked jobs so saw just about all
the crazy things that can happen. After a week, I never let anyone
know I had ever been anywhere near a university, It was dangerous,
hard and exciting and a I learned a lot about people AND earned money
for grad school. It was a job meant for high school level people, not
for a techie type but it was something I will always be happy I did.
I saw well blow outs, I saw a rig destroyed when the company insisted
on pulling pipe full of mud filled with gas. I saw pipe stands fall
on people on the rig floor, wireline with 4000lbs tension broke 6'
from my head when I was dangling 90' off the rig floor in a sling
holding a 48' pipe wrench, pipe differentially stuck so bad it had to
be cut off, watched a hand fall thru the fingerboard from unexpected
H2S, my gas mask was my best friend, and on and on and.....GREAT
experience.
Joe
>
> - Show quoted text -
I'm not saying it is not the right step for your son. But if he were
not a big burly football player type it might be best to avoid the
anchor boats as a first gig offshore. I would have a hard time working
anchors not knowing and trusting the crew. If the boat is setting
semi anchors you are talking about 35 thousand lbs racing down the
deck, and things that get into the way do not exist.
I've never worked on a rig, been on a 100 of em, mostly PR and crew
changes but never stayed long. We worked a H2S rig once and it's scary
stuff for the boats, as the gas is heavier than air. They even made
sure you had intact eardrums as it could seep in that way and kill
you. We made a point to stay up wind.
Joe
Wayne.B
<steelr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>RIP
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQoRpJsrwsU&NR=1&feature=fvwp
I understand that the capsize was caused by the tug getting sideways
to the pull of the cable, but what was the underlying reason that it
got sideways in the first place?
Frogwatch
There are probably some jobs he could do as an unskilled healthy 19 yr
old guy. Things have probably changed since I last did this stuff.
Do they still use manual pipe tongs? I heard they were going to power
tongs to tighten joints. I have also heard that "throwing the chain"
is illegal to thread the joints together. Do they still use
floorhands to handle pipe?
Joe
> On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:41:41 -0800 (PST), Joe
>
> >RIP
> >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQoRpJsrwsU&NR=1&feature=fvwp
>
> I understand that the capsize was caused by the tug getting sideways
> to the pull of the cable, but what was the underlying reason that it
> got sideways in the first place?
Current and wind. Then trying to work the load up current and wind,
and shifting the tow heads on the stern to the load side is puzzeling.
I'm sure he did it to help turn the bow upwind, current, but it was a
bad move. He should have started over.
Joe
Bob
> > to the pull of the cable, but what was the underlying reason that it
> > got sideways in the first place?
> Current and wind. Then trying to work the load up current and wind,
> and shifting the tow heads on the stern to the load side is puzzeling.
> I'm sure he did it to help turn the bow upwind, current, but it was a
> bad move. He should have started over.
> Joe
Joe my master mariner.........
Are you suggesting operator error that included failure to controll
vessel/tow?
Bob
LIVE FROM LA (as in California for those with limitted travel
experince)
Joe
I dont know boB, just saw the you-tube video. And with no narration I
may have rushed to a conclusion. Bet it was a combo of many many
things that lead up to the loss. Could be equipment failure, mis-
communications, operator error, flukes and gremlins, or a combo of any
and all. I would bet by now you could Google up some official info if
you were really interested.
Joe
Tim
Regardless, it was a bad situation where probably all and none are to
blame.