Is this dialogue from a movie? If so, I can tell that the movie was made, or set, in a time period from 1956 or earlier. Correct? ------------------------------- The answers to your questions: 1. uptake is referring to the uptake valve on the boiler 2. One baker is the designation for the boiler, though it would appear as 1B. The destroyer probably has four boilers - 1A and 1B would be one pair of boilers and 2A and 2B would be another pair of boilers. In this dialogue, they are talking about 1A and 1B. Using the military phonetic alphabet, these would be pronounced as One Able and One Baker. At the beginning of the dialogue 1A (One Able) stopped working, so they were going to start using 1B (One Baker). The phonetic alphabet being used in this dialogue is no longer in use, which is how I narrow down the date of the movie, or event. After 1956, the military phonetic alphabet changed. Now we would say One Alpha and One Bravo, instead of One Able and One Baker, but it serves the same purpose. 3. The feed water is the water used to produce steam, not to cool the boiler. The destroyer used two steam turbines for propulsion. In general, the water used to cool equipment on a ship is referred to as "chill water". In this case, though, you would have two boilers dedicated to each turbine and the feed water is being heated to produce steam. --------------------- Hopefully, these answers help. I didn't work in the engine room, but I did serve in the Navy, so I happen to know a little about ships and military jargon.