Topic starter
24/04/2007 9:48 pm
When the Becky Thatcher was moved to Marietta, there were large arms that kept her away from the banks of the Muskingum, but would pivot with the height of the water.
Ok, in the '84 flood that didn't work so well, but moving her over the remains of the dam wasn't so good either. Anyway, when the DQ tied up at the Ohio River landing, the lines would go from the boat to the shore and stayed tight, as though the current was taking the boat away from the shore, not along the shore.
Why doesn't the paddlewheel end up touching the riverbed once the lines are secure and the wheel stops turning?
25/04/2007 12:07 am
The head lines and stern line are made fast in such a way as to keep just a portion of the forward part of the bow against the river bottom, and angle the stern out away from shore. If you let the stern swing-in you can easily get into trouble and wreck things. Especially if the river is falling, you want as little of the hull touching as possible, or you will wake up next morning "hard aground". Even so, it still happens. I think last year the MQ got stuck (near Paducah?) overnight due to a falling river and a harbor boat had to pull her off.
I can't remember the BECKY's setup, but I believe the SNYDER uses the cantilever arms that you mentioned. They work well if you don't have a lot of up-and-down in river levels. We can't use them at our landing because a 35' rise this time of year is not really uncommon, and the cantilevers just can't handle that with the swift currents. I suppose if you built them big enough, but that would be very expen$ive.
25/04/2007 11:18 am
Yes, the BECKY and SNYDER both have spars to hold the boats in place, but it has been necessary to disconnect them several times when the river rose to extremely high levels, such as the flood in 2004.
When the BECKY was at St. Louis, where there is always a swift current in the harbor, it was a constant battle to keep her, the GOLDENROD SHOWBOAT and other boats "pulled up" or "pushed out" with the constant fluctuations of the Mississippi.
I recall one occasion on the DQ long ago when our departure was delayed from St Louis due to being "aground" on the levee. The DQ backed mightily and FULL, filling the sky with thick, black smoke, but to no avail. Finally, a towboat rendered assistance and we were freed!
25/04/2007 12:12 pm
Thanks Keith - "spar" was the word I wanted to use, but could not recall it!
Topic starter
25/04/2007 4:43 pm
Keith Norrington;5290 wrote: I recall one occasion on the DQ where our departure was delayed from St Louis due to be "aground" on the levee. It finally became necessary for a towboat to provide assistance.
So would the towboat tow (tie up to the DQ) or tug (have a gap between the boats and pull)?
25/04/2007 8:47 pm
Depends on the situation, but pulling a boat off the bank is usually a fairly quick operation (if it's not too hard aground). A towboat would typically remain a short distance away and pull on a few lines from the stranded vessel. There have been a few occasions (such as mechanical failure aboard the Queens) where towboats have been used as alternate propulsion until repairs are made. In those cases they are "towing" and need to get up against the other vessel and use their wires.