"Don't touch any nozzles in the engine room". You mean ... this one?

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When I was younger, and on an airplane, I was always a little jealous of any other kid who got to go see the cockpit of the plane. I had seen it before, but, for some reason, I always wanted to see it again and again. Later in life, I have realized that it wasn't because I overly liked the idea of flying, but more simply because I like large walls of electronics, and multi-coloured blinking lights and stuff. And, I don't even care if all the stuff does anything, I just like the aesthetic of it all.

It was a 3 hour ferry ride to Saltspring Island, I 'forgot' reading material, and was a little anxious to do something interesting. So, when the Boat's Assistant Chief Engineer invited us to go below deck, and see the Engine Room, we were all game. "Don't touch any nozzles in the engine room", he said. It was just like I had imagined it. Noisy, hot, humid, and a wonderful world of overlapping engine parts, wires, electronics, and so forth. Air tight doors, sirens, flashing lights, plenty of other things to bump my head on, and really tight spaces. Sprawling and caverness. Zones of relative calm, mixed with zones of seemingly endless moving parts. And, all were managed through a modern control room. And, judging from the fact I took more pictures of that than anything else, that seems to still be my favourite thing to look at.

Thanks to Jann for showing us around the Engine Room.

Control Room

Control Room 2

Engine

(Not sure. I think I just like this angle)