Busy!!

Hello Everyone!

This semester just dosent seem to be slowing down! I have been so busy this semester I cant believe we have only been back for about a month.

This morning I went over to the ship to complete some extra maintenance that is suggested for the senior position I am applying for. All cadets are required to complete 12 hours of shipboard maintenance, but for many senior positions on board the ship is is good to go above and beyond that requirement. Going to the training ship for maintenance is one of my favorite things about MMA, it gives us a chance to get hands on experience. Today, I had to gather new butterfly valves for the turbo generator system, and then I was able to take one apart one of the valves. It was a good chance to see how butterfly valves work and are assembled.

In the afternoon I had my Electronics lab, and the topic of this weeks lab were Wheatstone bridges. A way to configure circuits so they can balance two legs of a circuit. We used breadboard's to build little circuits and monitor and calculate the change in voltage. Any engineering topic pertaining to electricity are still a little intimidating and unfamiliar to me, but one of my goals for this semester is to get a better understanding of how they work. Furthermore, my teachers have office hours where they are available for extra help, so that is always a great way to get a better understanding of the material we are covering in class.

I wish I could have taken pictures of all the stuff I was working on today, but my phone broke yesterday which I usually use for taking pics, so I am out of commission for a little bit.

My night is far from over, I still have a firefighting lecture and a refrigeration test to study for. As a Marine Engineer, I am required to do yearly firefighting training, and tonight is my night to listen to the lecture. In a few weeks I will have my firefighting practical in Barnstable, I will be sure to take lots of pictures of that!

But I gotta run, don't want to be late! Have a great night!

Lab Day

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone is having a great day and enjoying this nice spring weather we are having! It started snowing only about an hour ago and the snow is accumulating rapidly, crazy to think it was sunny and nice out yesterday. Gotta love New England Weather!

I had a very busy day today, and spent most of the day in labs. I started off the morning with my Steam and Gas Turbines lab, this week we were in the slow speed diesel simulator room. We used software on the computers in the diesel simulator room to simulate putting a boiler plant on line. At first I struggled with figuring out which valves to "open" so I could start each system necessary for boiler start up, but by the end of the lab period I got the hang of it. Through the use of the computer software I was able to practice putting a boiler on line, see what happens when you open different valves, and witness the processes that occur while putting a plant online, before actually trying to put a boiler on line.

After my Turbines lab, I had a few hours off until my next lab, so I grabbed a quick lunch in the mess deck, then headed to the Writing Resource Center for work until lab.

I spent my afternoon in my Electrical Machines lab. The focus of the lab this week was transformers. In lab I was able to create several different wye and delta transformer circuits. In all honestly, I was nervous for my e-machines lab because it is one of my hardest classes, but after lab today I feel like I have a better understanding of the material we are covering in class. This is all due to the fact I was able to create circuits and see how line voltage, phase voltage, line current, and phase current changes with different circuit configurations.

Speaking of e-machines, I have to go finish my homework! Have a great night and weekend everyone!

Lacrosse Season!

Hello Everyone!!

I am so sorry it has been such a long time since my last post. I have been so busy between my other on campus jobs, applying for senior positions, and with of course my academics. But just in case I was not busy enough, I recently joined the women's lacrosse team. At first I was worried I would not be able to handle all of my on campus obligations and lax, but after practicing with the team for the past few days, it isn't as overwhelming as I expected.

The women's lax team, is now a club, but as of next year it will be a varsity sport! Playing a sport at MMA is a great way to branch out and meet new people, especially as a freshman. It can be hard coming to a new school, and not know anyone, but playing a sport is a great way to meet people who share the same interests as you. Not only can you meet new people, but as a freshmen, it is a great way to get a break from the regiment. Going to the gym or practice is a great way to escape from the regiment, and just blow off some steam and relax.

For those of you who are not familiar with the athletic programs at MMA, you can visit the following website.http://www.mmabucs.com/landing/index

Since we are on the subject of lacrosse, I want to give a big congratulations for the men's lax team for their win tonight against Becker College. I watched the game for a little tonight and they looked great, so good job guys!

Furthermore, the women's lax team has a scrimmage against Salem State friday the first, at 1900. We would love some support!

Have a great night everyone!

De'ja vu!

Hello Everyone!

Tonight marked the first official meeting for the Petty Officer Program! The POP at Mass Maritime is for second semester sophomores who are interested in being a Squad Leader their junior year. It gives them an opportunity to step into a leadership position as well as give them an inside look as to what their responsibilities would be like if they were chosen to be a Squad Leader. Each Petty Officer (in 5th company) is assigned a junior Squad Leader to "shadow"-- this means they are now getting up with us at 0540 for cleaning stations, conducting inspections with us, and monitoring study hours with us. In 5th company we have 27 Petty Officers! Sadly, we only offer about 13 Squad Leader positions, so some Petty Officers will not be able to be squad leaders their junior year. Regardless of if they get the position or not, the Petty Officer Program is an amazing leadership opportunity you could not get any where else.

It is strange to think that a year ago I was in the Petty Officers shoes, and is even stranger being on the other side, the one who is being "shadowed". Furthermore, I had my first informational meeting about the Cadet Chief Engineer and First Assistant Engineer positions and the application is due on the 18th. This was so surreal, because it seems like just yesterday I was a freshman day dreaming about when I get to apply for Cadet Chief Engineer, I can not believe that day has come.

So my pictures today are throw backs from the first day of orientation freshmen year, enjoy!

Sea Project

Hello Everyone,

One of the requirements of the Commercial Shipping Project is to complete a sea project, and includes responses to at least 35 questions, CAD drawings, and a daily log. So for the past few days I have been trying to put the finishing touches on my sea project. As of right now I am at about 100 pages in length! I have never written something quite so substantial in my life. But looking back on the sea project, it is much more than just 100 pages of writing. My sea project is an example of all the knowledge I gained while on my commercial ship. It was a way to almost force me to lean about things I previously knew nothing about OR was something I was intimidated by, i.e. electronic controls. Now that I am almost finished with it, I am surprised with myself about all of the things I learned, and so happy I was given the opportunity to learn so much.

Because my project is so long, I wont attach it all, but here is a little sample of what my project is like! This is in response to a question asking about the specs. of the ship we were on.

The USNS Rappahannock is a stunning six hundred seventy seven foot Fleet Replenishment Oiler, crafted by Avondale Industries, Inc. in 1995 for the United States Navy. The Rappahannock engine room houses two, 10 cylinder, “V” configured, turbocharged, Colt Pielstick diesel engines. Between the two engines they can produce approximately 32,580 diesel brake horsepower, giving her a cruising speed of around 20 knots.

Since being built in New Orleans, she has sailed under the control of Military Sealift Command, replenishing the United States Navy while underway. Because of the demand to provide fuel to Navy ships, the Rappahannock carries just under 189,169 BBL of fuel in her cargo tanks and burns an estimated 31,510 gallons of fuel per day.

At maximum draft, she displaces 42,382.6 long tons, with a gross tonnage of 20,705.79 long tons, and a net tonnage of 18,987 long tons. The Rappahannock is currently sailing in the South China Sea as part of MSC’s Far East Division, providing replenishments to the US Navy as well as providing training to the Singapore Royal Navy. While underway, the Rappahannock can provide accommodations for 137 officers and crew, but is currently sailing with 90 people onboard.

Sorry the font got weird! Have a great day everyone!

Week One!

Hello Everyone!

As the first week of classes comes to an end, I find myself increasing excited to tackle my classes this semester. With a full load of 17.5 credits I will undeniably be very busy, but I am sure I will learn a lot of fundamental engineering knowledge in all of my classes.

My classes for this semester include Electronics, Refrigeration, Steam and Gas Turbines, Thermodynamics, and Electric Machines, as well as their associated labs. These courses are the core of the Engineering program at Mass Maritime, and gives us (the engineering cadets) the opportunity to both test and expand our knowledge. These classes are vital to the program because they expand on the information we learned in our pre-requisite classes. For example, Physics II focused on electrical circuits, capacitors, resistors ect. and provided us with the basic knowledge of how circuits work so we could further that knowledge in Electronics or Electrical Machines.

I am excited for next week because that is when labs start. One of my favorite things about MMA is the way labs are used to help supplement the material we are learning in class through a practical, hands on approach. Another great part about the labs, is the class size is smaller. We have about 24 people in the class, still a very small class size compared to most colleges, and only about 12 in lab, so often times you have a lot of one-on-one time with the professor. My favorite lab/class I have had since attending MMA has been my Internal Combustion Engine class taught by CDR Eident. He was very knowledgeable about diesel engines, but also helped us prepare ourselves for what the industry is going to be like once we graduate, offering us some much needed and appreciated advice. The lab was awesome because we would work in groups of three, completely overhauling small detroit diesel engines, allowing us the opportunity to do things like pull a cylinder liner, or set the valve lash.

Well, it is time for me to continue working on my homework. I have included some videos from my commercial shipping experience, I hope you like them!

Welcome Back!!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful winter, and if you are like me, you are now looking forward to the spring!

As most of you may know, I spent my winter aboard Military Sealift Command's (MSC) USNS Rappahannock, a 670 foot replenishment oiler. So today, I am just going to fill you in on what I did while I was onboard.

My journey began on a LONG 16 hour flight to Singapore from Norfolk, VA. Once we arrived at the airport, it was a 45 minute cab ride to Sembawang Shipyard where the Rappahannock was docked. After spending a few days at the dock, we got underway for the first time in months (the ship was in drydock previous to my arrival).

While we were underway, my duties as a cadet were to work with the engineers. I would go to an 0800 muster where I would be assigned my task for the day. Some days I would work with the "Duty Engineer" to help him complete his rounds of the engine room, and other days I would be working with the Deck Machinists welding or testing the winches for the fueling and cargo stations.

Aside from working in the engine room, I had the opportunity to watch several Underway Replenishments. For those who are not firmiliar with UNREPS, what happens is a Navy ship pulls along side our ship, and we send a shot line over to their ship which is attached to a wire that has a big fuel hose on it. The fuel hose goes to the other ship, and we can transfer fuel to the Navy ship. It was definitely a once in a life time opportunity, and I am really happy I got to see several UNREPS.

Another way to replenish Navy ships is by doing a Vertical Replenishment (VERTREP). How this works is we put pallets of food, lube oil, whatever the ship may need, into a cargo net that is attached to a long pole with a loop on the end. A helicopter hovers over the flight deck and someone (I did this a few times) manually hooks the pole onto the bottom of the helicopter. Once the cargo is attached the helicopter it flies over to the Navy ship and gently drops it on their flight deck. This too was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Spending 50 days on a ship, in an exotic country is something I would have never been able to experience if I did not go to MMA. I have TONS of pictures and unfortunately I can not post them all, but I hope you do like the pictures I have posted!

Have a great day!