Enlisted men had fairly spacious four man staterooms with built in bunks, bookshelves, large lockers, a sink, a writing desk and a connecting bathroom, known nautically as the head. Each bunk had a reading light and there were storage drawers under each set of bunks. There was plenty of space for uniforms and civilian clothes. Everything except for chairs and the wastebasket were bolted down in case of heavy seas. We also had a lounge with books, card tables and comfortable chairs. The ship’s dispensary and a little hospital were also on the second deck.
Most officers, chief petty officers and civilians had two man rooms. They had stewards to make up their bunks and clean their rooms. Enlisted guys did all this themselves.
When I was aboard Michelson the staterooms were not air conditioned, but had forced air ventilation with wall mounted fans. Air conditioning, sometimes really cold, was provided in work spaces to keep the electronic stuff cool.
Some thought went into making the accommodations comfortable. Survey ships spend a lot of time at sea.
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| Bunks in one of Michelson's a Navy enlisted staterooms. There was plenty of storage space in large lockers and drawers. Occupants added bookshelves, bulletin boards, pictures and paintings as well as (sometimes) refrigerators and clandestine liquor lockers. The top compartments on the lockers were for life jacket storage. Photo from Chet Headley. |
