Latest Pics of the Magrodome and Atrium

It was another beautiful winter’s day in Marghera, Italy, when Chief Electrician Ed van Weijen took this photo looking aft over the Magrodome retractable roof that covers the Lido area.

Here’s a cool photo Ed took of the spiral stairway in Eurodam’s atrium. The stairs will be of transparent glass, which should give guests the feeling that they are walking on air.

Latest Photos of the Dining Room, a Hallway

Just yesterday we received a comment from a reader asking for a photo of the dining room and galley. Chief Electrician Ed van Weijen must be a mind reader because last night he sent a photo of the dining room.

Well, Ed is half a mind reader because instead of a galley shot, he sent this interesting photo of a hallway under construction on one of the cabin decks. Thanks, Ed!

Testing the Mooring Winches

Chief Officer Andre van Schoonhoven sent us the latest photos from the yard. They’ve just completed testing of the mooring winches — the machines that pull the ship to the dock and hold it in place. Here’s how Andre described it:

The mooring winches were tested for their rated power. Rated power is 52 tons of bollard pull, and we got them up to 57 tons on the strain gauge. (Note: a bollard is the strong post on a pier that the mooring line is attached to.) That means they can pull an object of 125,400 lbs!

The test also provided the opportunity for Rolls-Royce, manufacturer of the winches, to adjust all the settings on the electro motors and their control stands.

The winches are equipped with so-called self-tensioning modes, which means that if the strain on a mooring line gets above a certain setting, the winch will pay out the line, rather than breaking it, and when the strain gets lower, it will automatically heave in again.

The testing is performed by putting a steel cable on the winch drum, and putting the other end around the bollards on deck, with the measuring device in between.

That way, the bollards get tested at the same time.

UPDATE: In response to a question from a reader, Andre gave us the lengths of the anchor chains and mooring lines:

The mooring lines are 220 meters long, tip to winch line, manufactured by Lankhorst Sneek. The anchor chains are 364 meters long.

Chief Officer Andre Tackles a Weighty Subject — The Anchor

A while ago I wrote an article about the anchor and mooring gear, now here’s the follow-up.

Eurodam’s anchors have arrived. To show the size, my height is 186 centimeters (6 feet, 2 inches), so the picture with me standing next to the anchor gives you an idea of its size.

The anchors each weigh 10,580 kilograms, or 23,276 lbs! Each anchor will be attached to 13 lengths of anchor chain. One length is 15 fathoms, or 90 feet long. The attachment of chain to anchor, and for the lengths to each other is done by using connecting links, also know as kenter shackles.

The shackles come in four parts — two halves, one center piece and a locking pin. That way, you can also disconnect it in the future.The reason for this is that the first few lengths of chain are used the most during anchoring.

If they are worn past the allowed specifications, usually after about five to sx years, during the drydock period of the ship the first length is put all the way at the end, length two becomes one, three becomes two, and so forth. That process is called end-for-ending.

The last length of the chain is connected inside the chain locker to a pin, and is called the bitter end. More a rope worker’s term than a knot term, the reference is to the end of a rope that is tied off, hence the expression, “to the bitter end.”

UPDATE: In response to a question from a reader, Andre let us know hos long the anchor chains are: 364 meters.

Safety First: Checking the Fire Detection System

Chief Officer Andre van Schoonhoven sent in this photo of Third Officer James Cook and a colleague testing the fire-detection system. “Only 4,000 detectors to go …,” wrote Andre.

Progress on the Atrium

Here’s another construction view from our intrepid photographer, Eurodam Chief Electrician D.E. van Weijen. Looks like the atrium is almost ready to have the spiral staircase installed. Almost ….

The Engine Room Is Looking Good

Eurodam Chief Electrician D.E. van Weijen sent us these photos of the engine room. Aside from a few coils of unconnected wiring, it looks ready to crank up and go.

Getting Wired on the Bridge

Blog Board member Chief Officer Andre van Schoonhoven is back from vacation and sending us some interesting photos from the shipyard. Today he shows us the bridge and the … looks like millions … of wires that lead from somewhere to here — the command center of the ship.

A Really Cool Photo

View: Looking aft over the Magrodome covering the Lido Deck toward the Sports Deck where the Tamarind Restaurant and its specialty bar will be located. Many thanks to Eurodam Chief Electrician D.E. van Weijen for this extremely cool photograph.

First Look at the Galley

Eurodam Hotel Manager and Blog Board member Stan Kuppens has arrived at the shipyard and sent us some new photos yesterday. He gave us the first look at the ship’s galley.

“As you can see, the galley equipment is starting to come in,” Stan wrote in an e-mail. “In several parts of the galley and storerooms the walls are up. They are working hard to get the rooms ready and operational for the sea trials scheduled in March and April.”