On Deck - Night Time Operations

Night time on deck is a different animal.
 

  

  

•   Have the proper tools at hand before going out on deck.
• Use a proper flashlight (intrinsically safe) with a fresh set of batteries.
• Wear a billed cap to keep search light glare out of your eyes.
• Wear proper PPE as always.

By Captain Mike Maneely

It is very important to make sure the rounds in your engine room and on your barges count!  

Make sure that when you, or your crew, do check rounds in the engine rooms, that you actually LOOK for problems before they occur!  It has been my experience that many people expect a problem to be obvious to them!  If it is obvious, it has most likely been a potential problem for some time.

A thorough walk thru of an engine room should take no less than 5 minutes.  You should be looking for signs of potential problems.  Rubbing hoses or lines that need chaffing gear or relocation are not always obvious.  Tell tale signs of metallic dust can indicate a pipe rubbing against something.  Look for drips on the deck or in the bilges to indicate a leak of some type.  I like to keep spill pads under my engines to show me any oil or liquid leaks very quickly.  

As supervisor, it is very important that you be familiar with your equipment and its functions and performance.  By making yourself present in the operation, you not only are able to see, first hand, what condition the equipment is in.  You are also able to better assess the areas of the operations, and or equipment that you need to improve your own knowledge of.  In the event of an issue with the equipment, you will be much better able to relay the problem, and your needs, to the maintenance department.

If you don't know how it looks when it is right!  You will certainly miss the subtle clues that indicate something is wrong!

Many of us have very limited mechanical background! One of the things that are very important is your ability to minimize a hazard and make emergency repairs in an effective and timely manner.  To do this, you must first be comfortable with your knowledge of the equipment and its operation!

There are things that go wrong on a towboat that seem like major issues!  But most of them are really not much more difficult than changing a tire or battery in your car!  It's a matter of perspective. Simple problems can be resolved by the crew, instead of using up resources, i.e.:Higman mechanics that could be doing more major jobs.

Simple repairs onboard can mean the difference between having one engine or generator, and having two!  Having a toilet that flushes or doesn't.  Running water, working winch brakes, starters, air pumps, compressors, 101 valves, etc, can be addressed most of the time, by a trained crew.  Being able to change a drive belt, or water pump can keep you with two working generators.  Changing pulley belts on the air compressors can be a life saver when you need air to start a main engine.

You should spend time in the engine room with our mechanics when they board your boat. You can learn a lot from them. And you can ask questions and get information about the difficulty or ease of a repair you can make! Your personal knowledge and ability can be extremely helpful if you have to relay directions to the deck crew to make a repair by vhf when you have to maintain control of a tow. They are your best help when underway and a problem occurs!

With that knowledge, comes a confidence that your crew will pick up on!

They will feed off of it and in turn, be more confident in themselves and their ability! They will also find more comfort in the knowledge that the leadership of their boat can get them back to the house safely!  Make sure you send your deck crew to assist the maintenance department as often as possible.

SIRE INSPECTIONS

During a recent SIRE inspection, the following observation was made to the element listed below.....
 

Just Two Weeks...

Until we meet for our First Wheelmen's Seminar of 2011! 

Here is a brief schedule and what to expect when you get there.

If you plan to arrive the night before the meeting, check in begins at 3pm.   Dinner that evening and breakfast the next morning may be added to your room charges.

We will begin on the first day at 0930 in the Learning Center .   The program will run throughout the day with a break for lunch.  That evening we will have a social, followed by dinner.  After dinner we will have a couple different activities planned for your entertainment.

Day 2 will start at 0800.  Breakfast is served from 7-8.  Our program will finish up at Noon.  This will allow those who travel to get home at a reasonable hour.  Lunch will still be provided on the second day if you choose.

The dress code for this event is business casual.  As professionals, neat attire is expected.  What does business casual mean?  In our case a collared shirt at a minimum and nice long pants.  Jeans are acceptable as long as they are neat and not worn/stained.  And no, you don't have to wear a tie.

If you need directions to Cypress Bend click here.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Dredging Vessels

You are cruising down the ICW when you are approaching a single vessel with a lot of lights on it.  It may be a dredge.  Vessels engaged in dredging, when restricted in her ability to maneuver shall display:

• Red, White, Red on the mast head, same as all vessels restricted in ability to maneuver.
• Two all around Red lights on the side of the obstruction.
• Two all around green lights on the side were other vessels may pass.

If at anchor, these will be the only lights visible.

If underway they must also display: 

• A white mast head light (2 mast head lights if over 50 meters in length)
• Side lights
• Stern light.

So you ask, what about the pipeline?  Dredge pipelines that are floating or supported by trestles are required to display:

• One row of yellow flashing lights.  These lights will flash 50-70 time per minute.  They will be all around light. 
• Two all around red lights will mark the end of the pipeline. 

USCG Navigation General

INLAND ONLY....Yellow lights are NOT used to identify __________.

a. U.S. submarines
b. vessels pushing ahead
c. law enforcement vessels
d. dredge pipelines on trestles

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND....Which display of lights shown indicates a dredge underway and not dredging? (diagram 72) 

a.  A

b.  B

c.  C

d.  D 

INLAND ONLY ....While underway you sight the lights shown with the yellow lights flashing. The lights displayed are from a __________. (Diagram 81)

a. vessel not under command
b. dredge pipeline
c. vessel aground
d. vessel engaged in fishing

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND... At night, which lights are required to be shown by a dredge on the side of the dredge which another vessel may pass?

a. One red light
b. Two red lights
c. One white light
d. Two green lights

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND....A self-propelled dredge not engaged in dredging but proceeding to a dredging location at night would __________.

a. not be required to show any lights
b. be required to show the lights characteristic of a dredge
c. be required to show the lights of a stationary dredge
d. be required to show the lights of a power-driven vessel underway

Friday Questions for last week looked at your Potable Water System.  It discussed the loading, storage and treatment of potable water with a goal to keep all crewmembers healthy. 

The major points discussed were:

• If your system needs to be treated, use 1 cup of Clorox Bleach for every 250 gallons of water. 
• How to determine the gallons of water on board so a treating dosage can be calculated. 
• The need to keep potable water clean.

The results are flying in from the fleet.  Has your boat finished the Potable Water question set?  To access the Potable Water question set again, go to On Board Health, No 1, Potable Water System.

On Board Health No. 1

Potable Water System

Question 1.....Potable Water is used for cooking.......TRUE/FALSE

Answer....TRUE.

Question 2....Which item(s) may contaminate water?  Check all that apply.

Answer....Viruses, Chemicals,  metals, mosquitos

Question 3.....When filling the water tanks you have to use your garden hose.  What should you do before using the hose?

Answer....Flush it with a bleach solution

Question 4....You can get rid of chemicals in the water by letting the hose run for a couple of minutes before filling the tanks....TRUE/FALSE

Answer....FALSE

Question 5....Too much bleach in the water may cause:

Answer....Bowel Irritation

Question 6....How much bleach should you add per 250 gallons of water?

Answer....1 cup

Question 7....You added about 1000 gallons of water to each tank.  How many cups of bleach should you put in each tank?

Answer.... 4 cups

Question 8....All boats have one large paper filter and one large charcoal filter....TRUE/FALSE

Answer....TRUE

Question 9.... How often should you change your water filters?

Check all that apply.

Answer....Once a week/If there is slime in the cartridge/If the cartridge is turning green.

Thanks for the good work! 

Stern Shots   

The Old and New Greenville up ahead M/V BAFFIN BAY

Nautical Trivia

The Golden Years of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers

  

At the end of the Civil War, the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers became the major highways of commerce through the middle of the nation. Out of that boom and before the railroads took over in prominence, came the construction of many grand riverboats, each trying to outdo the former in size and opulence.

 

One of the first of this group was the RUTH, completed at Howard Shipyard in Jeffersonville IN.  Some of you have seen or heard of Jeffboat, the present day shipyard where many inland barges are built. Jeffboat is just a few blocks away from the original Howard Shipyard site.

  

The RUTH was completed in 1865 and was the largest packet steamer at the time. She was 309 feet by 48 feet wide. Her main deck carried 2,500 tons of bulk freight - livestock, cotton, hay and tobacco. The second deck could easily handle a thousand deck passengers. On the two decks above, there were staterooms that could accommodate another 600. Included in the accommodations were servants quarters, a nursery, a barber shop and a huge bar. The dining area and lunge spanned 268 feet in the main cabin.

 

The RUTH caught fire in 1869 at Pawpaw Island above Vicksburg and burned to the water. All passengers were saved but 200 cattle were either burned or drowned.

 

In 1867, the GREAT REPUBLIC was launched in Shousetown, Pa. Her dimensions were 350 feet by 51 feet. The owners quickly went bankrupt and she was sold to Mr. William Thorwegan. Thorwegan eventually change the name to the GRAND REPUBLIC. The GRAND REPUBLIC was short lived and burned while tied up to the New Orleans levee in 1877.
 

J.M. WHITE, built 1878

The grandest of all during this period was the J. M. WHITE, built at Howard Shipyard in 1878. Though dimensionally smaller than the above boats, she was said to be the finest riverboat in the world. All her china showed her own handsome picture. Her Irish linen was monogrammed J.M.W., and her silver was engraved with her twin stack silhouette. The J. M. WHITE carried a 2,880 pound ships bell.

 

With the railroads quickly taking prominence, the J.M. WHITE never carried her full capacity of passengers. She burned in 1886 at Blue Store Landing, in Pointe Coupee, LA.

 

Excerpts from "Voices on the River, the Story of the Mississippi Waterways" by Walter Havighurst, Castle Books, copyright 1964