Deck Machinery (motor) — Most Asked Questions

6 questions asked about deck machinery (motor) across the General and Fn 3 papers, heaviest first. 1 of them are must-master.

1. 1 Checks on er crane? safety?

   Must master Theory asked 15 times · across 9 examiner banks General

   Answer

   An engine-room crane is proved by its limits, brakes and markings: every limit switch tested, fail-safe brake holding, SWL painted on.

   • Limit switches in all motions — port, starboard, fore, aft, hoisting, lowering — tested regularly; hoist the hook slowly up to prove the upper limit stops it.
   • Mechanical stoppers back up the limits; electromagnetic brake is fail-safe, releasing only with power on.
   • Overload trip, rail guards over pulleys, rough-weather mechanical locking, hook stowage lock, and clear SWL marking on the crane.
   • Control breakers at separate points (engine room and ECR); the crane must work at 5° list and stated trim.

   Surveyor follow-up: the upper hoist limit fails its test with a load on — do you lower with the motor or land it another way?

   Full theory: Deck Cranes — Three Motions, Level Luffing and Safety Features

2. 2 Safeties on crane E/R

   High priority Theory asked 8 times · across 6 examiner banks General

   Answer

   Crane safeties are limits plus brakes: every motion bounded, every overload tripped, every failure fail-safe.

   • Limit switches on hoist, lower, travel and traverse, proved by slow-hoisting the hook to its automatic stop.
   • Mechanical stoppers back the switches; the upper hook limit matters most on winches without torque limiting.
   • Electromagnetic brakes set on power loss, overload trips stop lifts above SWL, and rail guards, locks and SWL markings complete the set.
   • Test limits regularly — a crane that creeps past its stop is already a failure.

   Surveyor follow-up: the upper limit passes empty but drifts with a load on — brake or switch, and what do you check first?

   Full theory: Deck Cranes — Three Motions, Level Luffing and Safety Features

3. 3 Anchor windlass safety

   Revise Theory asked 3 times · across 3 examiner banks General

   Answer

   Windlasses haul, never ride: brakes hold the lift, stoppers and claws take the ride, covers guard the pipes.

   • Brake bands hold the cable during heaving with holding power proved by static test before use.
   • Chain stoppers and devils claws carry the riding load at anchor — the gypsy never sleeps under strain.
   • Cover spurling and hawse pipes after housing so feet, water and stores never follow the chain down.
   • Slipping clutches, guards and trips proved clear; riding slips and surge loads reported before the next use.

   Surveyor follow-up: riding at anchor on the gypsy brake with the stopper off — safe, lazy or detainable, and who takes the load?

   Full theory: Anchor Handling and the Windlass — Duties, Brake and Slipping Clutch

4. 4 Fall free break in crane

   Revise Theory asked 2 times · across 2 examiner banks Fn 3

5. 5 Windlass break test

   Revise Theory asked 2 times · across 2 examiner banks Fn 3

   Answer

   A break test proves the windlass brake holds: load the falls, apply the brake, and see whether the cable runs away.

   • The brake must hold the static test load on the falls with the clutch engaged — that is the brake test.
   • The other half is the overload release, which slips at the maker’s setting so a jam does not part the cable or stall the motor.
   • Test it at stated intervals and log the load held and the release setting found.
   • A brake that holds but will not release is a broken anchor; a brake that will not hold is a dropped anchor.

   Surveyor follow-up: brake holding full load but not releasing on the test — is it the brake, the release or the clutch?

   Full theory: Anchor Handling and the Windlass — Duties, Brake and Slipping Clutch

6. 6 Windlass motor safety

   Revise Theory asked 2 times · across 2 examiner banks Fn 3

   Answer

   The windlass is stopped by a brake that holds on power loss: electromagnetic fail-safe brakes, overload release and a limit switch.

   • Fail-safe electromagnetic brakes hold the load when power fails, so the anchor is not dropped by a power failure.
   • An overload release slips at the maker’s setting so a jam does not part the cable or stall the motor.
   • Limit switches stop the motor at the end of travel, and a load limit switch trips it if the load exceeds the rated pull.
   • Test the brake and the release on schedule and log what they held — a windlass brake is only as good as its last test.

   Surveyor follow-up: windlass brake proved holding with the overload release jammed — can the anchor be recovered?

   Full theory: Anchor Handling and the Windlass — Duties, Brake and Slipping Clutch

Source: 123 written papers and surveyor oral banks, 24,613 entries, merged into 17,210 topics. Ticks are stored on this device only.