Page 40: of Marine News Magazine (July 2011)

isnt supposed to be, and mariners are responsible for see- ing to that. In the world of small ships the bridge might be a wheelhouse, pilothouse, nav station, helm station or, yes, sometimes the bridge. On a sailing vessel it might be any of those, as well as the quarterdeck or the cockpit. The confines of a small wheelhouse may be such that a secondperson is almost a nuisance, even when trying to be help- ful. In such cases, the solo watchkeeper is the center of the wheelhouse universe, with all the tools arrayed within easy reach. Yet we also have megayachts, oceangoing tugs, research vessels, ferries, and offshore supply vessels that rival the largest vessels in sophistication, and are equipped with ergonomically designed bridges to facilitate teamoperations. But in reality, a lot of small-ship bridges are models of inconvenience: radar sets that require the oper- ator to face in a direction other than forward, thus invit- ing disorientation; insufficient space to lay out an entire chart; laptop screens cluttered with multiple functions with an electronic chart running somewhere beneath; depth-sounders the operator cannot view from any natu- ral position; noise, vibration, lousy visibility; do-it-your- self installations; and other limitations that just seem tocome with the territory. The bridge of a small vessel is any- thing but standard. THERESOURCES Resources are anything that can help get the job done. They are commonly considered to include information, equipment, and people. Mariners use equipment and peo- ple to get information, but information also comes from countless conventional and unconventional sources: regu- lations, passage plans, stability letters, standardized proce- dures, recommendations, the look of the sky, local knowl- edge, radio chatter, and the running lights of an approach- ing vessel. Mariners use this information to create and maintain situational awareness, an accurate interpretation of what is happening around them. Resources may be ship based, like a spotlight used to pick out day marks, or they may be external, like a weather report or a traffic update. Equipment on small vessels varies as much as the vessels themselves and the work that they do. A fast ferry may run twin gyrocompasses feeding an integrated bridge 40MNJuly 2011DIVERSIFIEDEngine Exhaust SystemsHARCO MANUFACTURING CO. 1000 Industrial Pkwy ? Newberg OR 97132800-394-7571 ? Fax: 503-537-0601www.harcomanufacturing.com email: [email protected] AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS ABSCertified ? Bureau Veritas Qualified MARKET