"No Tow Boats" .. That cracked me right up Skipper ! What are the pilgrims going to do ..push you off .. call the cops .. or launch their own dory and tow you off ! 👍☘😂
We were in an apartment in the building just South of Eads Bridge, the two twin apartment buildings on the St Louis side. My wife purchased binoculars so I could watch the towboats. We were also in St Paul ,MN in apartments right by the high bridge on the Mississippi. I enjoyed watching the towboats parking barges right on the bank. I spoke with several of the guys working on the barges as the river walkway was only feet from their barges. I would go downtown in St Paul and look at towboats that were tied up and waiting. I even had one captain invite me aboard and give me the grand tour of the boat. It was powered by two ALCO diesels, and that whole boat was spotless. I remember it had 2 tillers(?) to steer it and they were very long. There were also 2 spares up on the wall. In the engine room there were spare parts for the rudders as well. I really enjoyed seeing that boat. I live in Kansas, so I haven't been around river barge work and it's very interesting to watch. I learned that the Captains use the flow of the river to do most of the work when possible. I also learned that you have to be very patient to operate a towboat on the river. I just found your channel, and I enjoy watching your videos.
Love listening to those turbos absolutely scream as you throttle up the engines. Did I read somewhere correctly that you're from Oklahoma? I'm from Stillwater, but my wife is from just North of Alton, IL, so whenever we go to see the in-laws, I try to get some photos of the towboats as they come downstream. They are impressive vessels. I worked around frac equipment for a long time, so I loved listening to the rumble of large diesel engines for hours on end. To me, locomotives, tugboats, and towboats are all so impressive because you can hear and feel the horsepower at work. Great video!
When i was a teenager in early sixtys an seventys my uncle repaired. Welded boats an barges an i always liked watching the boats. On Miss. Take care sir an GOD BLESS
A captain from Serbia was on the Mississippi in 1960 and transferred his experience to the Danube, since then barges began to be used, until then they were tugboats. I work as a captain with 6-9 barges and that's the most you can drive from Budapest to the Black Sea in Romania. So far, I haven't had the opportunity to hear from colleagues from other rivers outside Europe
The standard barges are about 60 meters long and 10.5 meters wide, their draft varies, but is adapted to the, even during low waters, guaranteed fairway depth of 3m, but just like here in Europe on the Danube during high waters the draft can be higher. But that's a significant difference from what we are used to, instead of adapting the draft to the current river stage, the limiting factor on the Mississippi is available fairway width, they have to reduce the number of barges (normally up to 60, hence also the 10.000 hp towboats) but not so much their draft like we have to do on the Rhine and Danube. And they can have towboats with much larger propeller diameters without having to worry about low river stages.
You are so correct about time in position equals more knowledge gained. Tramp towing is a good place to learn all the different variations of how to lay a wire. Tramp towing the deck fittings are not always the same.
I have done it in the past, and probably will again. I don’t remember impressing anyone. I do remember the stress and unjustified embarrassment I felt. It still looks fun. 👍🏻
It's good to see you enjoying the summer with your canine pals, Kyle. Interesting footage of Karaoke night. What a 180' turn from the quiet of the river and the purring of boat engines, hearing folks singing in one of your videos, was. You and the pooches look healthy walking Galveston beach. I hope that your feeling much better now post-surgery and resuming exercising.
