Unit 16. Captain’s bridge

I. Master the active vocabulary:

binnacle – нактоуз

wheel house – рулевая рубка

to maintain command – подчиняться приказу

poop deck – палуба юта

to disperse – распределять

coxswain – рулевой (шлюпки)

to issue commands – отдавать приказы

a magnetic compass – магнитный компас

interchangeable – взаимозаменяемый

to exercise strategic control – выполнять стратегический контроль

machinery – машинное оборудование

II. Read and translate the following text:

Fig. 18. Bridge of the tugboat. An open compass platform, which still has the traditional binnacle, now also houses a radar antenna and sits above the enclosed wheel house.

The bridge of a ship is an area or room from which the ship can be commanded. When a ship is underway, the ship's captain or a senior officer is on the bridge at all times to maintain command and control.

Traditionally, in sailing ships, the ship would be commanded from the poop deck, right aft. With the arrival of paddle steamers, engineers required a platform from which they could inspect the paddle wheels and the captain required a position where his view would not be obstructed by the paddle houses. A raised walkway, literally a bridge, connecting the paddle houses was therefore provided. When the screw propeller superseded the paddle wheel, the bridge was retained.

Traditionally, commands would be passed from the senior officer on the bridge to stations dispersed throughout the ship, where physical control of the ship was exercised, as technology did not exist for the remote control of e.g. steering or machinery. Helm orders would be passed to an enclosed wheel house, where the coxswain or helmsman operated the ship's wheel. Engine commands would be relayed to the engineer in the engine room by an engine order telegraph, which displayed the captain's orders on a dial. The engineer would ensure that the correct combinations of steam pressure and engine revolutions were applied to enact his orders. The bridge was often open to the elements, therefore a weatherproof pilot house could be provided, from where a pilot (traditionally, the pilot was the ship's navigating officer) could issue commands from shelter.

Iron, and later steel, ships also required a compass platform. This was usually a tower, where a magnetic compass could be sited as far away from the ferrous interference from the hulk the ship. Depending upon the design and layout of a ship, all of these terms can be variously interchangeable.

Larger ships, particularly warships, often had a number of different bridges. A navigation bridge would be used for the actual conning of the ship. A separate Admiral's bridge could be provided in flagships, where the Admiral could exercise strategic control over his fleet without interfering with the Captain's tactical command of the vessel.

III. Answer the following questions:

1. What does a bridge have?

2. What did the captain require?

3. Where would commands from senior officer be passed?

4. Who operates the ship’s wheel?

5. What is a compass platform?

6. Iron and steel ships also required a compass platform, didn’t they?