From a 4 barge harbor pilot who likes his comfort zone and low stress...i must say....hats off to you and all your brothers who do the heavy work...awesome videos too....thanks
Wow totally interesting. Great play by play. Funny how knowledge so useless to one person (me) is entirely useful to others. Either way it's fascinating!
Great video, is flanking a method of saving fuel or a safer way of making the bend? Why would he not put the rudder hard over and power around then center and go ahead? Thanks, your videos are very interesting.
DC Brown it is the safest way to make a sharp turn with high current.. Since the tow is 1000' long if you try and steer it the water will be hitting you on port side and be pushing you towards the bank causing an accident
He would be flanking the next bend. By driving down towards the bend. Slowing his headway down and letting the current on the outside of the bend push his head around. The outside of a turn will always have the faster current.
No, many bends can be what’s called driven around. It’s a decision made by the pilot in command at the time. River conditions are always changing and what worked yesterday, may not work today. The inland towing industry is like many others. Time is money. Flanking is safer but slows progress. Driving a bend is much quicker but riskier. If the pilot decides to drive the bend but is unable too due to conditions or lack of skill. The outcome can be costly and time consuming. Where is after understanding river current and it’s effects upon a tow, flanking requires less skill. In this video it’s easy to see that there is a swift current. The narrator explains what’s happening in terms that land lubbers show easily understand. It should give those unfamiliar with towboat operations a better understanding of what might be happening or how sharp bends are made.
This is how the NTSB describes Flanking; A flanking maneuver allows tows to pivot around the point of a bend, similar to how a large log might drift downriver. The operator reverses the engines to reduce the forward speed of the tow and places the stern of the tow near the “point” or inside of the bend, in slower-moving water. During the turn, the operator applies a series of engine thrusts against the current to keep the stern near the point of the bend, while the faster-moving water at the outside of the bend, swings the head of the tow around. A vessel operator may decide to flank around a bend if the combined forward speed of the vessel and the current might otherwise push the tow onto the outside riverbank before the turn can be completed. Compared with steering around a bend, flanking requires more time to navigate through relatively short stretches of the river (as the forward speed is slower) but reduces the risk of running aground. Flanking is possible only when the current pushes the vessel from astern and “carries” the vessel through the turn.
