question for unklenew

[JRBjr]

From your post I gather that you pilot a river boat. I see them all the time passing by and have long wondered about a few things. How many rpm's do those motors turn? I have seen those big props. I was at Bay Springs yesterday and noticed there is a huge crain at the lock. What do they use a crain for at a lock?

[unklenew]

Well most of the bigger boats turn 900 RPMs at the engine but that is reduced down to about 200 at the wheel. As far as the crane at the locks they use them when they make repairs to the miter gates and various other maintenance jobs as required. I've been doing this for about 27 years so I'm in no way an expert yet..........................just ask anyone who's seen me drive a bass boat

[JRBjr]

Thanks for the reply, I am fascinated by those boats and all that goes with it. It seems like a dream job for someone who loves to be on the water. I have passed some barges that had very little wake and others that sent me airborne. Those on the TN river don't seem to put out much of a wake but I have seen some on the MS river that were huge. Is it because of the strong current?

[unklenew]

Yes it has a lot to do with current and the displacement of water. The more current the faster the water flows in behind a tow to fill the void. This coupled with max RPM's creates the "rolls" on the bigger rivers.


Man that sounded halfway intelligent

[gjudkins]

Do you have a normal route, where do you board the tow going back to work? just curious.

Guy

[unklenew]

My regular run is from St. Louis to Chicago and I catch it where-ever they are

[willfish4food]

Who cooks and what do you eat?

[Joey Watts]

From guys I know that have worked on boats like Jim. They eat like freaking KINGS why they are out there. Have a full time cook on staff !!

[unklenew]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by basscat247 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">From guys I know that have worked on boats like Jim. They eat like freaking KINGS why they are out there. Have a full time cook on staff !!</TD></TR></TABLE>

That is correct. Miss Hazel is our cook and we eat very very well. Fridays are seafood day, Saturdays are steak day, and Sundays are fried chicken. The rest of the week its roast, chops, pasta, etc. She cooks Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 7 days a week

[Joey Watts]

Only thing you forgot was deserts !!!

[dirtmonkey]

just a week or two ago, I went and watched skeeterbug lock one down thet had to squeeze in Columbus Lock that had about a foot on either side and had about a couple feet front to back... Tug was Joe Cain... I was impressed.

[hatcreek]

I spend a good bit of my fishing time on the MS River and the tugs/barges fascinate me. I always thought it would be cool to spend a couple of months working on one, just to see the places they go and the things they do.

Interesting note... I've done some wildlife mgmt and conservation easement work for the Brent family (unklenew will probably recognize the Brent Towing Co. name). Mr. Brent's office is like a living history book concerning barge traffic on the Mississippi. Very cool.