San Francisco Waterfront History
San Francisco Waterfront History
The San Francisco Waterfront
The Social
Consequences of Industrial Modernization
Part One; "The Good Old Days"
By Herb Mills
Page 19
Given this arrangement and the spotting of the booms, the ship's cargo hook or "blacksmith" could be traveled between the dock and the hold and vice versa, once it had been shackled into the free end of both the yard and midship falls. With the blacksmith so shackled, the gear stood fully rigged, and with the gear rigged, and the save-all secured, the hatch tarp would be removed and stowed.
The hatch boards and strong backs (or "pontoons") would then be removed and safely stowed either on the offshore weather deck or on the dock, and having "uncovered" the hatch, the holdmen were ready to go below.
As might be supposed, the task of rigging the gear and uncovering was Frequently made difficult by the presence of large deck loads. Strong winds and heavy rain, especially when combined with poor lighting at night, would also add to the difficulties. Such circumstances could also make the rigging of a rain tent over the hatch both difficult and dangerous.
