RETROFIT OF HISTORIC TELEGRAPHS

On a ship, the engine order telegraph system (EOT) ensures communication between the bridge and the engine room. It is used to send commands for the speed and the propeller pitch that is to be set. The commands range between full astern, through stopp to full ahead. In other words the lever position has a direct effect on the ship‘s maneuverability and hence, on the safety of the ship. To ensure a safe passage, it is best if the lever engages properly. As a manufacturer of EOTs, we have not only equipped more than 1,000 ships with our brand new operating systems but also restored historic engine order telegraphs and fitted them with modern technology. We would like to present one example of a historic brass telegraph retrofit on the German sail training ship Gorch Fock, which has Kiel as its home port.

Text: Steffi Karsten Picture: Michael Glüsing

| +49 4344 307 200 | service.steinsohn@interschalt.de

Since it was first put into service in December 1958, the Gorch Fock, built by Blohm & Voss, has called at almost 400 ports in 60 countries and has sailed more than 750,000 nautical miles during its many trai-ning voyages. That is equivalent to circum-navigating the globe 35 times. The ship has withstood numerous storms and has lost its figurehead, the albat-ross, five times. However, the today’s historic brass telegraph on the weather deck did not come on board until 2001. It is said that it was a gift from the city of Kiel. Since a telegraph cannot simply be screwed on to the deck without any functions, Steinsohn, which now belongs to INTERSCHALT, was commissioned to install a state-of-the art telegraph system that integrates the nostalgic brass telegraph. The system consists of the A067.1 telegraph in the wheelhouse, an A067.5 telegraph in the engine room and this very brass telegraph on the open deck. So that the brass telegraph can be used for the telegraph system, it was completely disassembled and rebuilt with turned and milled parts that were constructed in-house. Many hours were spent water-proofing the device. „Before we did this,

the thing was as open as a barn door,“ is how project manager Michael

Glüsing remembers the tricky restoration.

New scales were also made, a stepper motor and drive belt for the trailing pointer were installed and new lock-in positions were milled so that the switch lever is at the middle of the command. For improved night viewing, lighting and

the electronics unit were integrated.

The telegraph regained full

engine order telegraph func- tionality as well as an additional

– admittedly scaled back – electricshaft function. In slave mode, the lever

doesn‘t synchronize itself, but has to be set manually. When the device was overhauled in summer 2013, all drive belts, bearings, and seals were replaced, new end stops for the lever were turned, slots for the switch lever were modified, the lock-in positions were reworked, the shafts were aligned and the device was readjusted. „Restoring and maintaining historic telegraphs is a challenging task but also one of the most satisfying, especially when you are dealing with such an important ship,“ says precision engineer Mathias Bichel. And so that the functionality also looks good, Mathias Bichel polished the brass so that it shines.