It is to be expected that they are aware of our approximate frequencies.  Give a Jap station enough transmissions and a shore battery will be laying a shell in your cockpit.  For valuable aids in operation and on your equipment see MTB Communication Manual, 1944.

 

Lazarette:  Used for storage of gear.  One of the most important features here is the auxiliary steering apparatus.  Know where the linkage is and how to rig the auxiliary tiller.  Keep loose gear such as oil cans clear of rudders and steering gear.  Oil and paint cans have been known to jam the steering at critical moments.  The Navy maxim, Keep it Clean, is not just for appearance’s sake, but more important, for safety’s sake.

 

Watertight Hatches:  Hatches must be dogged down.  Particularly important is the hatch between lazarette and engine room.  A screw thrown through your bottom will fill up your lazarette in short order.  Holes in the stacks will pour water into this compartment.  Leaky ruder post packing can let in quantities of water.

 

BOAT—GENERAL MAINTENANCE

 

The four strong men of your boat’s structure are rivets, bolts, screws, and flue—and don’t let anyone kid you about the glue—its strong.  So long as each one of these members id doing its job the integral strength of the PT hull structure can be maintained.  When one lets down, one of the others has to take added strain and eventually weakens.  Under heavy going a minor weakness may develop into major damage.