“I don’t think I underestimated the stamina required but then I was a twidget and not a deck ape or snipe.”
Well, there you go.
Some divisions work 24 hours a day and sleep on their own time.
The longest I ever worked without sleep was from turn to Friday morning till close to midnight Sunday. The chief, bless his heart, allowed us to sleep in till 1000 Monday morning. On my last ship, we were short one guy in the work center so the watch was 12 on and 12 off. During the off time, I put in a 8 hour shift of regular work.