Non lake commercial boating question
 

I was hoping someone can explain this maneuver to me. The picture is a bit far away. The tug in front of the barge has a rope at 45 degrees to the bow of the barge. The tug is going backward. The rope is taut.
The tug in back of the barge has the same set up and is going forward. Neither tug is in contact with the barge. They are traveling extremely slowly towards the mouth of the mystic River.

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How do you know that tug in back is going forward?

If it were, the rope would not be taut. The tug would be pushing the rope.

No?

If the tug in back is indeed moving forward, it is probably being pulled by the tug in front going backward...The purpose of the rear tug would be to maintain a taut rope in order to control the angle, not assist with forward progress.

If that is the Mystic River in CT it sure has changed a lot!

Mystic... where?

Uhh… that's not a barge.

And how is this related to the Lakes Region? Seriously, the posts that are not related to the lake are getting old.


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The tug on the bow is moving the ship forward. The tug on the stern is helping to maintain control of the ship. Both need to be ready to pull or push the ship in any direction as the ship is affected by wind, current or unexpected hazards.

These tugs almost certainly have pod drives (azimuth thrusters) that can swivel 360 degrees, thus it does not really matter which end of the tug is tied to the ship while pulling, but from a control perspective, it makes sense for both tugs to face the ship so that if they need push, they have maximum control.

DaveR is correct, former Tug guy here

Sorry gilly. I'm not a member of any other boating forum and had a question that more knowledgeable mariners might find of interest. I'm sorry it upset you.

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Boston. Actually opposite the mystic entrance. Chelsea creek.

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I was hanging out with friends in our marina on Saturday afternoon when a marina neighbor/friend called me. He was bringing his 46 foot twin diesel boat into Hampton Harbor to return to the marina from Gloucester and lost forward gear on the starboard engine, and reverse gear on the port engine (Volvo Penta electronic shifters).

I hung up the phone, informed the group of the problem and we sprang into action. Some folks grabbed fenders (we have a giant "docking did not go as planned" ball fender that we leave in our cockpit all the time for these kinds of emergencies, so that was the first one grabbed) and climbed aboard the boat he shares a slip with, some folks grabbed boat hooks and prepared to catch lines, and two of us jumped in our RIB tenders and headed out to escort him in. Unfortunately, he needed to spin the boat counter-clockwise to back into his slip, and that's exactly what he could not do with the transmissions as they were. We used the two RIBs like tug boats and got him perfectly aligned by pushing on the two ends of his boat, while others got control of the lines from the docks and hauled him backwards into his slip. Everything went perfectly and we took it slowly so there was no damage or danger. Was actually really fun.

FWIW, the port transmission had a clogged screen on reverse shift valve, the other transmission seems to have an electrical fault in the shift solenoids or controls.

I am a fan of cables.

About 6 weeks ago I had a problem with Volvo Penta drives in a boat. The position sensor on the left drive failed and that drive couldn't be controlled and the engine went into limp home mode. With the joystick and electronic shifters and steering it really disables the boat.

Power Products from Portland Maine (and Wakefield MA) sent someone over and he diagnosed the problem, ordered the part, and came back 5 days later to install it.

I was very impressed with the service and the gentleman who came out. Very professional.