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#11
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1951 tugboat
MWB wrote:
You're welcome, I could go on for hours and hours. Please do. I'm sure there are many in this group that would be very interested in hearing details about what it was like to work on a tug. |
#12
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1951 tugboat
On Sat, 28 Apr 2007 01:04:17 GMT, shiver
wrote: MWB wrote: You're welcome, I could go on for hours and hours. Please do. I'm sure there are many in this group that would be very interested in hearing details about what it was like to work on a tug. I certainly would! wwp |
#13
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1951 tugboat
"shiver" wrote in message ... MWB wrote: You're welcome, I could go on for hours and hours. Please do. I'm sure there are many in this group that would be very interested in hearing details about what it was like to work on a tug. Tugs give a rough ride. I didn't mind the 20 plus foot seas, the 10 foot seas bothered my stomach. I slept like a baby in rough weather and I think I was a rare case. Looking at the same 5 faces for 90 plus days is a challenge. Prior to towing an oil rig we'd have a meeting, even though we knew who was going to do what, we still talked it over. We would even practice this. There would only be two of us on the deck and we knew who was going to do what and when. The tug is going up and down, we're taking seas and getting wet. I wore a Red Sox cap, t-shirt, shorts, sneakers and a life vest. You can't set a tool down, it would be swept overboard. We backed the tug up to the oil rig and handed them a 150' steel cable which they attached to the rig. That was attached to a 50' braded nylon surge line 24" in circumference. Then we let out the tow line 1800' feet, then we'd put chaffing gear on the line to protect it. It takes three tugs to move an oil rig and the speed is about 2-4 knots. A rig move from Texas to Florida could take two weeks. Towing a barge to Colombia was a lot of fun. There wasn't much to do and we all got our share of the sun. At times I found it boring, but then I'd think about my wife shoveling snow in Maine and those thoughts disappeared. I've had a cruise boat ask me if I'd tell them my position, so they'd know where they were. And I did, this was before satellite navigation, we used a sextant, which I was very good at. I've has a USCG cutter point a cannon at me, been hit by flying fish, been buzzed by the Blue Angels ( for an hour ) while going up the Mississippi River, got a free case of beer (long story) in a bar in Colombia...I had the time of my life. Every day at sea, it seemed something happened. Going up a river, everyone would be in the wheel house because it was something different. Rivers and Bayous were a rare treat. Mark |
#14
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1951 tugboat
Every day at sea, it seemed something happened. Keep talking, keep talking. |
#15
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1951 tugboat
On Fri, 27 Apr 2007 19:49:38 -0400, "MWB" wrote:
"joevan" wrote in message .. . On Fri, 27 Apr 2007 20:46:54 GMT, shiver wrote: MWB wrote: I'd go back to sea in a heartbeat. Interesting comments about the industry. Thanks for sharing. Yes, thanks for sharing your memories, Mark. Thanks Joevan. If you ever go to Owls Head please let me know. Mark That is for sure. I hope to visit there again. Hopefully, before not too many more years. |
#16
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1951 tugboat
"MWB" wrote:
{{snip}} wet. I wore a Red Sox cap, t-shirt, shorts, sneakers and a life vest. You can't set a tool down, it would be swept overboard. {{snip}} Reminds me of descriptions I've read of spacewalking, assembling the space station. Please feel free to share any other stories you have, it's fascinating stuff. MomDude |
#17
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1951 tugboat
"I wore a Red Sox cap" It's a wonder no one threw you overboard!
Very interesting stories Mark. Keep 'em coming. Randy PS: Think Mariano can ever pitch against the Sox again? If they weren't in his head before, they are after last week! BTW, life in the Eastern cellar is fine. "MWB" wrote in message ... "shiver" wrote in message ... MWB wrote: You're welcome, I could go on for hours and hours. Please do. I'm sure there are many in this group that would be very interested in hearing details about what it was like to work on a tug. Tugs give a rough ride. I didn't mind the 20 plus foot seas, the 10 foot seas bothered my stomach. I slept like a baby in rough weather and I think I was a rare case. Looking at the same 5 faces for 90 plus days is a challenge. Prior to towing an oil rig we'd have a meeting, even though we knew who was going to do what, we still talked it over. We would even practice this. There would only be two of us on the deck and we knew who was going to do what and when. The tug is going up and down, we're taking seas and getting wet. I wore a Red Sox cap, t-shirt, shorts, sneakers and a life vest. You can't set a tool down, it would be swept overboard. We backed the tug up to the oil rig and handed them a 150' steel cable which they attached to the rig. That was attached to a 50' braded nylon surge line 24" in circumference. Then we let out the tow line 1800' feet, then we'd put chaffing gear on the line to protect it. It takes three tugs to move an oil rig and the speed is about 2-4 knots. A rig move from Texas to Florida could take two weeks. Towing a barge to Colombia was a lot of fun. There wasn't much to do and we all got our share of the sun. At times I found it boring, but then I'd think about my wife shoveling snow in Maine and those thoughts disappeared. I've had a cruise boat ask me if I'd tell them my position, so they'd know where they were. And I did, this was before satellite navigation, we used a sextant, which I was very good at. I've has a USCG cutter point a cannon at me, been hit by flying fish, been buzzed by the Blue Angels ( for an hour ) while going up the Mississippi River, got a free case of beer (long story) in a bar in Colombia...I had the time of my life. Every day at sea, it seemed something happened. Going up a river, everyone would be in the wheel house because it was something different. Rivers and Bayous were a rare treat. Mark |
#18
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1951 tugboat
"Randy Kotuby" wrote in message . .. "I wore a Red Sox cap" It's a wonder no one threw you overboard! Very interesting stories Mark. Keep 'em coming. Randy PS: Think Mariano can ever pitch against the Sox again? If they weren't in his head before, they are after last week! BTW, life in the Eastern cellar is fine. Randy, I live for the Yankees and Red Sox series. To me, the season started 4-20-07. My 16 year old son is a Yankees fan. I don't know where I went wrong. Last August I was camping and listened to the Boston Massacre. Let me know when you come up here, I have a cap for you. The Yankees and Red Sox are playing a game during a Lunar Eclipse this year on August 28. This will be a great game. GO RED SOX Mark |
#19
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1951 tugboat
On Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:05:14 -0400, "MWB" wrote:
"shiver" wrote in message .. . In the mid 1980's when I sailed on a tugs, it wasn't worth starting your tug for less than 5k a day. So curious question for the group. What does it cost for some of these different types of boats to operate. Any idea what an ocean going tug or harbour tub, or water taxi, or barge, blah blah blah... costs to operate. For example Mark says that it wasn't worth while to start the engines for five thousand a day. Okay Mark.... where did you work. How big was the boat. What sort of jobs would it do in a day that would earn that five thousand. What did it cost to do particular jobs. I've always been interested in how much a tug charge to push a ship that last twenty feet. Tell us a bit about the day in the life of a tuggy. I'll bet there are a few here who would like to hear your story. I worked for Otto Candies for two years. I towed cargo to South America and moved oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. I lived in Maine and was paid Gulf Coast wages and realized I couldn't afford my dream job. I think my tug was 132 feet by 32 feet Now, I have no idea how much tugs get per day. A product carrier which carries 300k barrels charges 30k-40k a day. A Panamax sized crude oil carrier gets 50k-80k a day. The last twenty feet will cost you around $20,000. Sometimes, life on a sea going tug boat was worse than jail and we had a huge moat to deal with. When it was rough, you can't cook, you can't take a shower and you can't stand up to take a leak. We worked 6 hours on, 6 hours off, but we were always working. When it was rough, I'd get tired from just hanging on. I slept good when it was rough. There was no TV reception and we all read a lot of books. Now that my kids are grown up and my wife is sick and tired of me, I'd go back to sea in a heartbeat. By the way I've never been in jail. Mark Great Post Mark . Very Interesting . |
#20
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1951 tugboat
"Canal Lee" wrote in message ... On Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:05:14 -0400, "MWB" wrote: "shiver" wrote in message . .. In the mid 1980's when I sailed on a tugs, it wasn't worth starting your tug for less than 5k a day. So curious question for the group. What does it cost for some of these different types of boats to operate. Any idea what an ocean going tug or harbour tub, or water taxi, or barge, blah blah blah... costs to operate. For example Mark says that it wasn't worth while to start the engines for five thousand a day. Okay Mark.... where did you work. How big was the boat. What sort of jobs would it do in a day that would earn that five thousand. What did it cost to do particular jobs. I've always been interested in how much a tug charge to push a ship that last twenty feet. Tell us a bit about the day in the life of a tuggy. I'll bet there are a few here who would like to hear your story. I worked for Otto Candies for two years. I towed cargo to South America and moved oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. I lived in Maine and was paid Gulf Coast wages and realized I couldn't afford my dream job. I think my tug was 132 feet by 32 feet Now, I have no idea how much tugs get per day. A product carrier which carries 300k barrels charges 30k-40k a day. A Panamax sized crude oil carrier gets 50k-80k a day. The last twenty feet will cost you around $20,000. Sometimes, life on a sea going tug boat was worse than jail and we had a huge moat to deal with. When it was rough, you can't cook, you can't take a shower and you can't stand up to take a leak. We worked 6 hours on, 6 hours off, but we were always working. When it was rough, I'd get tired from just hanging on. I slept good when it was rough. There was no TV reception and we all read a lot of books. Now that my kids are grown up and my wife is sick and tired of me, I'd go back to sea in a heartbeat. By the way I've never been in jail. Mark Great Post Mark . Very Interesting . Thanks Lee |
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