I Keep Peeving Tugs.

[deepblueln]

Originally Posted by scoobert

look, here is how i compare this.
i drive a commercial truck for a living.
i weight 40,000# and am 55' long.
i cannot expect cars to understand the finer points of my driving.

when i take a right turn from the left side of the road, i have to look for people passing me on the right. i need to understand, they do not understand.
its ok. i will not demand they take drivers ED. why? because drivers ed will not teach them about driving a tractor trailer.
.

IDK, in Drivers' Ed, I never had to learn how to drive a tractor-trailer, but I definitely was taught how to avoid getting smooshed by one. The wide right-turn situation was specifically addressed in great detail.

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by deepblueln

IDK, in Drivers' Ed, I never had to learn how to drive a tractor-trailer, but I definitely was taught how to avoid getting smooshed by one. The wide right-turn situation was specifically addressed in great detail.

you went to a very good school.
i did a defensive driving and a pre license course, granted that was 15 years ago, so they may have changed...

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by cappy208

As Yoda said: I am niot the Jedi you are looking for.

We load Bakken Crude and it goes to NY, St Johns NB and some to Trainer Pa. As a country we are a net exporter of crude right now!

then how do you draw 23' empty?
when i see empty barges they typically read the 8-12' mark on the side.

[cappy208]

See.... the more questions you ask, the more you learn. I draw 18' on the tug. and when loaded the barge is 23'. So I have to allow at a minimum for 18' (plus 5' for squat) when it is just the tug with an empty barge and 23' (plus 5' for squat) when loaded. SO, in these waterways, I am NEVER going to go right to the edge, or give up my middle for a small boat...... NO way! I will go to jail for a collision. BUT I will never go to jail for an oil spill!(Grounding) Talk about subjects that will never be discussed in a Colregs course (but should be!)

In our case we go up empty, and load and go southbound loaded.

[scoobert]

wow, 18' draft. this one is only about 8'

tug boat flip accident skookumchuck narrows - YouTube

i know what the little red flag on the bow means! lol.
still do not know why anyone in albany would need a full barge of benzine.
one barge up there says "danger, benzine".

i also understand the squat, that is how cruise ships get under the bridge in norway or wherever that is.

[unbusted67]

Hey Man you really really need to educate yourself on this stuff. I'm not trying to sound harsh but you are responsible for your boat and there are very right and very wrong ways to run a boat. A basic understanding of sound signals and lights is an absolute must on the water. Lives depend on it. Get a hand held VHF for the cockpit they can be had for $100, monitor 16/13. Here is a link to COLREGs. Learn it, memorize it, know it. Safe boating, have fun! Collisionregs - Print Out the Colregs - Learn the Coll Regs the Easy Way

Originally Posted by scoobert

i didnt count. i didnt realize they had blasts for red to red, green to green, and such. it translated to me as ahole noise.

the reason i do not use the radio right now is the PO mounted it at the nav station, and thats great, if your down below with the engine off... there will be two radios when i am done.

never had this issue before......

i used to be faster....

[cappy208]

You are correct about how squat effects us. We have to be cognizant of our 'total draft' not just the 'at rest' draft! The Benzene (not Benzine) Is a chemical component of gasolines. It is one of the measured 'contaminant's that's monitored in human bodies. Since it is SO toxic, it has to be labeled to warn others. It is not specifically hauled by itself, just a component of the product.

[Capt Phil]

There are a few aboard here who made their living towing, pushing barges and commercial fishing. If you have been aboard these vessels and understand the some of the hairy situations you can get in to, you should know to cut these folks some slack. Col Regs are fine, light and whistle/horn signals are great as well but when things are going to **** with your tow, having a dimwit pleasure craft making some move that might be a problem for you usually gets a one finger salute regardless of their best intentions. I've personally not spent a lot of time on the river, maybe a total of 12-14 months but spent years towing logs and barges through narrow channels and rapids in the PNW, including the Skookuchuck Rapids many times as I used to live in and drive seine boats out of Egmont and towboats out of Pender Harbor. We had it easier in my day as there weren't as many pleasure craft around and the guys out there earning a living driving boats professionally usually know what they were doing (as long as they were sober). There are some different rules for places like the ICW and if you frequent them you are responsible to know the rules. You are also expected to understand and appreciate that everything on a tow may not be going 100% as planned and the skipper might be fighting current, eddies, mechanical problems, other traffic you can't see, bridge openings/closings or any one of a number of other issues. To travel without your radio on the correct hailing frequency with the volume up is not only dangerous but just plain stupid IMHO... Phil

[scoobert]

is there a reason we get a bunch of small tank barges, in lue of a mega barge?

[Therapy]

MY GAWD

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I guess I have been doing a little of both here.

Cudos to Cappy208 who is still trying.

There is nothing I could say to help so.............I won't say anything else.

[svmariane]

Not sure if this was already mentioned, but this link is a serious eye-opener.

AIS How do you use it? Vs Small vessles.

Original post questioned benefits of yachties having AIS transponders. And wow, did the professional "big boys" chime in on that.

The following (edited) quote has nothing to do with AIS but lots to do with COL-REGS and is applicable to this thread:

***
The problem with your post is???? Not enough of your fellow yachters are reading it, neve mind even aware this is an issue!

What mariners SAY they do is vastly different from what they actually perform. When I talk to most yachters, they are completely ignorant of the finer points. BUT, to hear them talk about their experience you would think Lord Nelson was just around the other side of the galley table! What is assumed is vastly different from what is DONE. I know (have met and tossed back many a Rum with) there are many competent yacht sailors out there. But, they are a rare breed.

It is good that you want to better yourself. Too bad many of your contemporaries 'think' they are all that and a bag of chips. Let the others know there is a reason they keep getting mowed down by ships. (and it isn't necessarily all the ships fault) It may be legally, but half of our time on the water is making sure WE keep ourselves alive without depending on someone else. There is no one else to blame if we make bad decisions.

***
Anyway... IMHO The full thread is a great read.

[Sailmonkey]

Scoobert


There is a huge difference between your truck and a tug/barge. Your truck can stop or alter direction quite rapidly compared to a barge. When a car cuts you off to the right you simply stop.
When you cut off a tug, there is a lot of frantic steering, some full throttle work on the engines, and no hope of stopping for several hundred yards at the least.
It's not hard to talk to them, listen to 13, most of the time you can determine who's coming and politely ask them where they would like you to be.
I have transited the GIWW several times with a handheld VHF as my only radio, and I can promise you that you can get more than a quarter mile, but most of the time it's not needed. It will receive the tows broadcasting who they are and where they are. Then you can contact them if its a curve or narrow spot.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by scoobert

no. when people say stupid things to me i respond in kind.
when they provide useful information, i absorb it fully.

i think members here are use to trashing someone and them not fighting back, like the guy in NZ, they ripped him up, and he didn't say boo back. not going to happen to this droogy

You are the only person here saying stupid things. People haven't targeted you. You've come in with a giant chip on your shoulder, with the words "kick me hard" carved into it.

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

You are the only person here saying stupid things. People haven't targeted you. You've come in with a giant chip on your shoulder, with the words "kick me hard" carved into it.

ah, if you could see the deleted posts...
how do you carve on a chip? they break easy....

[Capt Phil]

Well said, Sailmonkey... +1, Phil