# My first "tin boat"



## Popeye (Nov 29, 2007)

Came a cross a picture of my first boat. Man that thing was heavy and slow. Fully loaded or running high and dry, top speed was like 14 MPH. But even fully loaded you could cruise for weeks without needing to fill up. I miss her sometimes.


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## Jim (Nov 30, 2007)

Nice boat, You guys would still have me beat on my boat. LOL!


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## pbw (Nov 30, 2007)

What are those towers used for?


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## Popeye (Nov 30, 2007)

The ship is the USS Canisteo (AO-99), which is a Fleet Oiler. Those towers are called King Posts and are used to support a series of wire ropes that connect to a receiving ship when we would transfer fuel and supplies such as seen in the below photo of our ship transferring fuel to the USS Forrestal.






The entire evolution is arduous and dangerous. Seen too many close calls during those things: from ruptured hoses to near collisions to that damn Russian spy ship that stopped right in front of us during an UNREP (underway replenishment) and caused us to have to do an emergency breakaway.


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## Jim (Nov 30, 2007)

flounderhead59 said:


> The ship is the USS Canisteo (AO-99), which is a Fleet Oiler. Those towers are called King Posts and are used to support a series of wire ropes that connect to a receiving ship when we would transfer fuel and supplies such as seen in the below photo of our ship transferring fuel to the USS Forrestal.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




God damn commie bastards LOL!


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## Waterwings (Dec 1, 2007)

Nice pic Andy. You were on one of the "newer" AO's !  . Made my first Med Cruise ('73) on the USS Severn (AO-61), homeported out of Newport, RI. Those AO crews were hard-working _and_ hard-playing when off the ship overseas, lol


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## Popeye (Dec 1, 2007)

Back in '88 nearly our entire Engineering Department (CHENG and DCA included) got kicked out of the EM Club in GTMO. Something about drinking too much and guys doing the "Dead Cockroach" on the tables. Jeez, that brings back some memories.


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## Waterwings (Dec 1, 2007)

> ...got kicked out of the EM Club in GTMO...



Ah yes, the Windjammer club! 8) . Did they take you back to the ship on those gray buses, lol? My first visit to GTMO was on the Severn in late '72. They didn't have females stationed there then, and there was a USO band playing one night, and the worst fight I ever saw was started due to some guys off our ship making fun of some drunk Marines (sorry there USMC, but it did happen) dancing with each other, lol. Base Shore Patrol with billy clubs got us all on the bus.

(maybe this should have been posted in the Humor/Stories section, lol)

The Canisteo was an AOJ if I recall? Basically cut in half and had extra tanks added?


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## little anth (Dec 1, 2007)

thats cool


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## bcritch (Dec 4, 2007)

Here's my first Tin Boat. USS Midway. It's now a museum in San Diego. Does that make me old?


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## DocWatson (Dec 4, 2007)

Originally Posted by bcritch


> Here's my first Tin Boat. USS Midway. It's now a museum in San Diego. Does that make me old?



That would depend on which years of her nearly half century of service you served on her.

Launched on March 20, 1945, decommissioned for the last time at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego, California on April 11, 1992. She was stricken from the Navy List on March 17, 1997.


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## Waterwings (Dec 4, 2007)

bcritch,

Nice pic!  . What was your Rating? Former DC here.


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## bcritch (Dec 4, 2007)

DocWatson said:


> Originally Posted by bcritch
> 
> 
> > Here's my first Tin Boat. USS Midway. It's now a museum in San Diego. Does that make me old?
> ...



1987-1989 I'd like to get out to San Diego sometime and see her.


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## bcritch (Dec 4, 2007)

Waterwings said:


> bcritch,
> 
> Nice pic!  . What was your Rating? Former DC here.



Waterwings - I was an AT ( Aviation Electronics Technician)
Where did you spend your time?


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## Waterwings (Dec 4, 2007)

RTC GLakes, DC "A" Schl Philly, SF (HT) "A" Schl SDiego, then onto sea/shore duties at Newport, Mayport, Charleston, New Orleans, Little Creek, Philly, Louisville...ret'd '92


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## bcritch (Dec 5, 2007)

Waterwings said:


> RTC GLakes, DC "A" Schl Philly, SF (HT) "A" Schl SDiego, then onto sea/shore duties at Newport, Mayport, Charleston, New Orleans, Little Creek, Philly, Louisville...ret'd '92



Looks like you did your 20 years and went all over.

I went to Great Lakes for BC as well. A school in Memphis Tenn and then off to Japan for my Midway cruise. I then fished up in Willow Grove in the Reserves for 3 years.


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## shamoo (Dec 5, 2007)

did my bt in the great lakes also, gotta love that smoke room, didnt know my sinuses could hold so much snot(ew), put down on my dream sheet I wanted to go to South Carolina, virginia, or anywhere on the east coast. I got my wish spent 2 1/2 yrs. on the east coast of africa, Asmara, Ethopia.It so happened to be an army post, kagnew station. USNAVCOMSTA.


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## Waterwings (Dec 5, 2007)

yep, those "dream sheets" were exactly that, a dream wishing you could get what you asked for, lol.


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## Popeye (Dec 5, 2007)

Waterwings said:


> yep, those "dream sheets" were exactly that, a dream wishing you could get what you asked for, lol.


Yeah, I hear that. I asked for West Coast, got East. Asked for a DD/DDG/CG, got an AO. The only thime I got what I asked for was when I asked to go to Great Lakes as an RDC. Turned down White House Communications Staff Duty, which was the original offer as the wife said she wasn't going to DC. I knew a guy that did that same White House tour and he got 6 NAM's and 3 Comm's for his 3 years there. Left there an EM1 and made CPO and Senior first time up right after that. Prolly a Master Chief by now.


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## Waterwings (Dec 5, 2007)

When I _finally_ got offered shore duty they said I could be an RDC, a recruiter, or an instructor. I took the instructor duty, which sent me to Glakes for school (which I swore I'd never return to Glakes after boot camp :roll: ), and from there spent 3 yrs 10 months in New Orleans teaching DC and writing curriculum for CNAVRES. After that went to SIMA Philly (after the detailer wouldn't give me any other choices) as R-1 DivO for 2 yrs. After that he wanted me to go to Corpus Christi on a reserve frigate, no other choices, so I put my papers in  .


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## Popeye (Dec 5, 2007)

I was on the USS Scout (MCM-8 ) homeported in Ingleside, Texas in 1992-93 then SIMA there from 93-96. If you would have taken the frigate orders (Hewes, Truett or McCandless) we probably would have met sometime. Small world.


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## Waterwings (Dec 5, 2007)

flounderhead59 said:


> I was on the USS Scout (MCM-8) homeported in Ingleside, Texas in 1992-93 then SIMA there from 93-96. If you would have taken the frigate orders (Hewes, Truett or McCandless) we probably would have met sometime. Small world.



That would've been the time frame I was to be there. I left SIMA Philly late Feb. '92. It is a small world  .


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