Are you ready for the next few months of cold weather?

What are you expecting tonight (November 13, 2013) when it is time to go out on the tow if there is need to inspect the rigging?

If you are part of the crew on the M/V LAVACA BAY, the expected Chicago overnight temperatures are expected to be in the mid 30°'s F. Balmy conditions when considering the previous night dropped to below 25°F with a wind chill of as low as 14F°.

Heading south, the conditions tell us winter is lined up to hit. The M/V GORDON A. KEENAN had 21°F overnight with a slight warm-up expected today while waiting for Kentucky Lock near Paducah, KY.

The first real cold front of the season has made it all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Is your crew ready to handle the conditions as the temperature drops?

Personnel

Keeping yourself warm as the temperatures drop is not just a matter of comfort. It is a matter of safety and should be a major consideration before getting on deck when the temperatures are near or below freezing.  It is tough to keep focused on the job at hand when you are shivering and trying to keep your body warm.

Since our operating area covers a major portion of the United States, your crew should be outfitted and ready for cold conditions. 

From your head to your toes, every body part should be covered according to the weather around you.  Step one in keeping warm is working with layers.  Keeping your body heat close to you with layers of thin clothing is the start to staying warm.

Start at the core.....Long underwear keeps air close to your skin, helping to trap body heat.  Traditional cotton long underwear, tops and bottoms are great inexpensive additions to your cold weather outfitting.   High tech gear such as Under Armour® has the added ability to wick moisture away from your skin.   

The next layers should be decided upon by looking at the expected temperature and atmospheric conditions.  Continue to concentrate on your body core.  I like to add a fleece vest as an additional core insulator as the temperatures drop. Work outward, adding layers and stopping at an appropriate level.

On the coldest days, an outer layer of insulated coveralls may complete your outfitting.  Rain gear of course can go over the top if needed to keep out moisture.

Since 20 to 30 percent of your heat loss can go through your head, it is important to keep it covered with some form of headgear. A knit cap is a perfect example of that and is worn to keep the head and ears protected from the cold weather.

The only downfall to a knit cap is that it only covers a small area of your head. A knit ski mask can be used to keep your neck, ears, nose, and mouth warm.  Ski masks should especially be used in situations where there is an intense wind chill factor and added protection is needed.

Another essential item needed to keep warm is a good pair of insulated gloves. Start again with layers by using glove liners.  It is difficult to work with tools, valves etc. when your hands are cold.  It does not take long at freezing temperatures for your hands to have difficulty working.

Of course the feet need the right gear to keep them warm.  The soles of your boots are in direct contact with the cold steel of the barge deck which is then quickly transferred to your feet.  Once again use layers, starting with a thin cotton sock and then going to thicker wool socks.  If your boots tend to leak, you can add plastic bags over your socks and then into your boots.  Change out your socks when they become damp from perspiration.

Crew work should be planned such that they are less exposed to cold weather and allowed to warm up on a regular basis. Heating in accommodation should be checked to ensure its working satisfactorily.  Are space heaters operational?

All personnel shall be instructed in hazards of working in freezing conditions and be aware of the possibility of slipping.

The Equipment

When the cold weather starts remember expansion and contraction. All metals expand when heated, contract when cooled.   With contraction, small leaks in joints and fittings typically will show up. The chance for these small leaks is routinely found in new boats that are experiencing cold temperatures for the first time since construction. Look for leaks and tighten up as needed.

Below are cold temperature reminders to get your vessel operation ready for the weather ahead.

Towboat - Deck Preparations

• Drain on deck fire main and fresh water pipe lines, valves, etc. that are outside of the accommodations and engine room.
• If snow is expected, have shovels and de-icer ready to keep decks ice/snow free.  Have you ordered enough de-icer?
• Drop mooring/head lines into the forward hold with the ends hung inside the entrance.  Frozen lines are difficult to handle.  Keep them dry and ready to use.
• Be prepared to secure air to the whistle during operations.  Ice crystals can form in the air whistle's actuation valve and prevent it from closing.

Towboat - Machinery, Engine Room Preparations

• Keep engine room doors closed and secured.
• Adjust the number of ventilating fans operating in the engine room.  Secure all fans during extreme low temperature conditions.
• When moored, during extreme cold, start up and idle main engines on a regular schedule to keep engine oil warm.  Use your judgment on how often to run.
• Do not let the reduction gear oil get too cold. When warming up engines, clutch in the gear where possible to circulate gear oil.
• When moored, during extreme cold, start up and swing the rudders on a regular basis to circulate hydraulic fluid and to keep ice from forming around the rudders. 
• Check antifreeze levels in your main and generator engines for the proper concentration.
• Keep air reservoirs well drained of condensation to prevent ice crystal build up inside deck air lines. 

Barge - Deck Preparations

• Keep working lines dry and out of weather when not in use.
• Clear deck of snow/ice.  Spread de-icer as needed.
• Drain water from barge fuel tank before freezing conditions begin.
• Make sure antifreeze levels are correct in pump/auxiliary engines.

Photos by Capt Bo Wilson, M/V PRESTON SHUFORD

Port of Orange, TX 1885 - 1887

  

The largest wooden steamships ever built were completed in Orange in 1918. The "Daughterty" type ships were 315 feet long, a 48 foot beam, and single screw. These ships were rated at 3,484 gross tons.

The port of Orange became a deep-water port, open to the Gulf of Mexico and the world's oceans in 1916 when a 25-foot channel through Sabine Lake, past Sabine Pass, and out to the Gulf of Mexico was completed.

The first effort to open the port to the deep water vessels began in 1885 when a group of sawmill owners attempted to open a shoal at Sabine Pass. The shoal would allow vessels drawing only four or five feet to pass. A specially constructed massive steel harrow was constructed to try and plow the bottom of the channel. Several steam tugs were employed to drag to plow over the bottom but the effort failed.

S/S WAR MARVEL being christened in 1918 at Orange, TX

Real progress began when the US Congress appropriated funds to build jetties protecting the entrance to Sabine Pass. The channel was gradually deepened by the outward wash of the currents: as the years passed, vessels of gradually increasing draft could navigate the Sabine Pass channel. Sometime later a government dredge was brought in to further dredge out the shoal.

CBT Certificates earned by Higman employees during 2013...........4280 

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Answers to this weeks Rules of the Road: A,D,A,D,B