I imagine these tanks for for very small vessels . A ship would not take up cargo space with bouyancy tanks .
Derek

 

Derek

The tanks were only about 12" wide and hugged the sides of what I presume was a single hull. They were made in sections about 48" x 48" and followed the exact contour of the hull. I can't remember how big the ships were, but there were many dozens of tanks along both sides, sometimes stacked ontop of each other. Does this help you.

Regards Nick(Thumb)

 

For me it deepens the mystery somewhat.
Lifeboats had buoyancy tanks but I have never heard of a ship with them.
You say the ship's cook would do a fry up for you in the galley so it was probably a reasonable size vessel. You also say you measured up for the tanks yourself, are you sure you weren't measuring lifeboats?
The crew probably disliked them as they had to be painted with zinc chromate and it was a fiddly & messy job.

 

Nick,
Did you work for Gledhills?
They were a company in Liverpool which made all sorts of copper and brass tanks and cylinders, mainly for the plumbing, heating, and ventilation trade but also for marine use.
The main works is in Blackpool, and interestingly, the president of the company, named Keith Gledhill, used to be a purser on the Queen Mary.
I have only ever seen bouyancy tanks fitted in small craft such as lifeboats and launches.
Regards,
Pat

 

Are we talking buoyancy tanks for wooden lifeboats. I remember these and they had to be removed and coated with boiled linseed oil. What a job.

 

Gentlemen, the bouyancy tanks were definately fitted snug against the insides of the hull of the ship and definately not the lifeboats. The ship was docked 'I think' in the Alexander at the bottom of Strand Road Bootle, we used to walk with the tanks on handcarts down the steep slope of Strand Road and into the dock. I used to work just off Strand Road in an engineers and ships chandlers called Manufactureres [Liverpool] Ltd, They no longer exist. Sorry I can't help you with the name of the ship, but a lot of the crew
spoke in a language I did not understand.

Regards Nick.

 

I recall the dockyard copper smiths used to make up buoyancy tanks to fit the curvature of a navy whaler's or cutter's hull , usually snug to the bilges and under the thwarts.
They were tradesmen to be admired with the neatness of their work.
Can't say that the tanks would have an application on a ship of any size though.

Bob