Recent content by stoker dave

A billion years ago I was a navy reservist in Toronto. At that time, the ships available for training were old and outdated. I think both some newer kit for the Great Lakes sailors and perhaps some small and limited operational role (with lots and lots and lots of supervision and oversight)...

Do you really think that some other country would sell their nuclear weapons to Canada and give Canada full operational authority over those weapons? I think the liability to the vendor would be too large to accept. Please justify your position.

Others above have noted the extreme cost of a nuclear weapons program. As a ballpark estimate (yes, I more or less made up these numbers) I would think $50B - $100B to build the infrastructure and $50B per year after that. Please consider: need to design, build, staff and operate a uranium...

I have said this before and I will say it again. Young kids today have a reasonable chance of living to be 100 years old. I would suggest that, until about age 30, all kids should do odd jobs, join the circus, join the military, learn a trade, travel the world, do manual labour, work on...

That is not unreasonable. If you want to plan for nuclear powered vessels 20 or 25 years in the future, you need to start right now developing a culture of 'procedural compliance'. The documented plan is the law. No shortcuts. No workarounds. No 'adapt, improvise and overcome'. No...

I can see that. Canada picks a supplier of submarines and says "yes, exactly that, don't change a thing". Then some commander in the sub acquisition project decides that he needs to leave his mark on things to get promoted. So he says "yes, exactly that, don't change a thing. Except for...

Once upon a time I was 'trapped' while posted to a ship for many years. The 'gym' was two really cheap exercise bicycles and a universal weight machine bolted to the deck in a tiny and poorly ventilated compartment. Individuals who exercised while at sea (doing whatever was possible in the...

Thanks everyone for the information. It appears that hearing protection has significantly evolved and improved since my days. @Patches : It appears that you may be exposed to loud noises but there are policies and procedures in place (and individuals to assure compliance with those...

Excellent advice. In industry, if there is a noise hazard, wearing hearing protection is mandatory. Signs are posted saying that hearing protection is required in certain areas. Failure to wear hearing protection when required can get you fired. Out of curiosity: 1. Is wearing of hearing...

I skimmed through the report and I think there may be some good things in there. What struck me was the number of times that recommendations made had previously been made (sometimes more than once) and not acted upon. I would like someone to say that this is the last kick at the can. If...

I can speak a bit about marine systems engineering officers (MSEOs). Ships at sea operate 24 h/day. Operations such as refueling can be scheduled for any time (although during the day is 'normal'). MSEOs (once they have finished their training) don't normally stand designated shifts but...

I think that is the root of the problem. While I am some time out of uniform, I have worked at any number of industrial sites including underground mines, surface mines, industrial facilities, oil & gas production facilities, construction sites and environmental remediation sites (which have...

That is clear, blunt and direct. I commend whoever wrote that. As an ex-cadet, I am agnostic on the future of RMC. It should live or die based on its merits. I think we can call this a 'shot across the bow'.

And possibly futile. Recall that about 20 years ago AECL was given a half-billion dollars to develop a medical isotope production reactor. They never got it licensed and the project died. A half-billion dollars wasted and nothing to show for it. As others have said, there will not be a...

I appreciate the enthusiasm here for new submarines and the technical insight. However, I would consider your timelines highly optimistic. Even once a design and builder have been selected, I might have thought the procurement process might still take several years to consider commercial...