Why I ride Boats

You're so right, Fred. In addition, the work can be fun, is always interesting, and fortunately, the money is good, too. I don't like being gone from home for 30 days at a pop, but you know, I've been working doing SOMETHING since I was 12 years old, and have been looking for the perfect job since then. I have not found it so far.

If a person can get past the "being gone" part, there's really not anything NOT to like about these old boat jobs. I have friends who have so-called "regular" jobs, and when you really stop to think about it, they don't have the real time at home, with spouse, kids, etc., that I do.

The Whole Enchilada !!

Greetings From New Orleans !
First of all , I would like to thank both Fred for his original thread and then Bob for his comments as well . Its refreshing to hear from some one that has actually been there and done that and sweeps away the glamour and glitter of " working on the river " !
Having said that , I have to admit , for me at least its simply . " The Whole Enchilada " , that keeps me activily working in the loacal marine environment !
For me its the challenge , its th adrenline rush , its the comradie of a good well oiled crew that makes living and working on a boat enjoyable , its the running in shut out fog , its the mentoring of a green Pilot , its that same gree pilot telling me how he made 81 Mile Point in high water , its sitting down with old friends and Master-Pilots and telling lies and explaining how life was done in the past , its being mesmorized by a stellar sunset or sun rise while the rest of the city sleeps , its the smell and taste of the river itself , its sending a green deckhand ( Dick Weber ) to the Pilot House to get the " Key To The Lock " , its sending another green deckhand ( Fred Carmichael ) into the french Quarter in the middle of the night to get fresh fried begnoits , its the entire marine culure , the vocabulary and the language , its even coming into a grinding hault on an out of controll loaded Chinese grain ship into the New Orleans , River Walk .
There are so many different reasons why I and others enjoy riding boats and ships for that matter , that there is juist not enough time or space to convey ! Further more , its so much more than just a job and if your out here because it is just a job , then you really won't last long or belong !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson

Fred Carmichael;22905 wrote: Many times when people see boat people on their boat, they are waiting for the next hard push required to keep the boat running. Boat work tends to be all out or nothing. The all out will make a person old, in a hurry. Reguardless if it's decking, engine room, or wheelhouse. Wheelhouse requires the most constant attention and while not as physically demanding as some other jobs, the stress and demands of the job wear on a person.
The deck and engine room require more physical effort but again, it's not steady and seems to be all out or nothing.
The all out is what I get paid for, the nothing is what I do best and one of the reason I perfer to work boats.
Even being afternoon, everyone else is asleep on my Tug. I'm on radio watch, awaiting our next orders and listening for any vessels in the area which might need our assistance. I'm limited to where I can go on the boat due to being required to be able to hear the radios.
I make a fresh pot of coffee, open a new pack of smokes, switch the T.V. to one of the music channels, country or blues in my case and get in the zone.
This is a state where I just appericate and enjoy being on a boat. Alone with my thoughts, o.k. that might be unsettling to some who know me, enjoying my coffee and watching the river flow by. Thinking about things which need attention in MY ENGINE ROOM, plan for my next time off, at this moment, watching an Artco 3 stacker work 35 under the Grammercy Bridge. Watching dark clouds build across the river, lightning included, white clouds and blue sky to the north and a sense of calm and contentment, which the dispatcher will no doubt screw up sooner than later.
It's a tough job, but someone has to do it and it may as well be me.

No Place I'd Rather Be ...

A few minutes ago, my mother called and asked what I was doing, and I said I was working. "Oh," she replied, "you're sitting up in the pilothouse with both doors open; feeling the breeze blow through." You got it made" "Yep," said I, "It took a long time getting here."

If you have to explain the allure of the river and the boats to someone, they will never understand. Either you got it, or you don't.

W. C. Handy said it best: "Ain't no place I'd rather be than here..."

Y’all are too much. You are such romantics. I agree with everything. I grew up on the river never wanted to do anything else. I got my license young and for a short while I was the youngest working pilot on the river. I may have graduated high school but, I gave up all the high school perks to work out here. All the things that most people take for granted for what is the norm for teenagers I never did. No Friday night football games, high school sweethearts, or parties without parent’s permission. Never went to my junior prom and the only reason I went to my senior prom was because I was kind of forced by my port captain. He had some how found out.

My days were at school and my evenings on a boat in Cincinnati Harbor. Homework was done either sitting on the back deck or port captain’s office. Weekends meant non-stop working from the time school was out till the morning bell on Monday. There were many times I went to school from the harbor. However, all that work did help me get into the Great Lakes Maritime Academy. Sometimes I do wonder how my life would be different if I had done more things that normal high school kids do. However, I don’t think I would change anything. 20 years so far with no regrets.

Don't fret about being "different." The non-conformists are the ones who have the ideas, who lead, who accomplish grandly, who get the most out of life, who even learn most from their failures. Count difference as an asset.

Different is right in regards to those who follow the river. Being called "Mark Twain" and "Huck Finn" in High School because you were a boat nut certainly makes a person feel different, although it never budged my passion for the river and boats. While amongst the river community being called MT and HF would be seen as high compliments. The river is a great equalizer and she is quick to separate the men/women from the boys/girls by challenging them; physically, mentally, and emotionally and sometimes all those at the same time. But she is also quick to reward as well with those things we all know about and some have mentioned already in this thread. My path to the river hasn't been as straightforward as maybe I hoped. Today I dabble in it I guess one could say, although even at 35 I hope someday I might get my license and perhaps later in life make it my career.

Have enjoyed this thread.

Aaron

Strange Things

I'm happy to know that I wasn't the only kid who was a "river wierdo" (still am). My Dad called me Huck (which I loved); the hi-school Harrys sang the "Mike Fink, King of the River" tune when I came around. I missed all the proms 'cause I was down on the river at Walt's Boat Club- working, and an asphalt playground was something to cross on the way to the Licking River.

What a grand way for a kid to grow up!

One Other Issue !

Greetings From New Orleans !
One other reason I like to " Ride Boats " is simply the fact that it is just so different !
So often when I am on my way to a job assignment I see traffic backed up for miles either on their way to work or on their way home from work .
Sure , it some times stinks to get called in the middle of the night to go to Baton Rouge or some other distant destination to go drive an 800' plus ship down the Mississippi River , but having said that , it is so very very different that any 9 to 5 job that I can think of !
During most any trip that I can recall , there is about 99% of boredom and then there is that 1% of sheer terror that will pop up when you so least expect it !
Just another day at the office , but I would not trade it for anything !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson

Fred Carmichael;22905 wrote: Many times when people see boat people on their boat, they are waiting for the next hard push required to keep the boat running. Boat work tends to be all out or nothing. The all out will make a person old, in a hurry. Reguardless if it's decking, engine room, or wheelhouse. Wheelhouse requires the most constant attention and while not as physically demanding as some other jobs, the stress and demands of the job wear on a person.
The deck and engine room require more physical effort but again, it's not steady and seems to be all out or nothing.
The all out is what I get paid for, the nothing is what I do best and one of the reason I perfer to work boats.
Even being afternoon, everyone else is asleep on my Tug. I'm on radio watch, awaiting our next orders and listening for any vessels in the area which might need our assistance. I'm limited to where I can go on the boat due to being required to be able to hear the radios.
I make a fresh pot of coffee, open a new pack of smokes, switch the T.V. to one of the music channels, country or blues in my case and get in the zone.
This is a state where I just appericate and enjoy being on a boat. Alone with my thoughts, o.k. that might be unsettling to some who know me, enjoying my coffee and watching the river flow by. Thinking about things which need attention in MY ENGINE ROOM, plan for my next time off, at this moment, watching an Artco 3 stacker work 35 under the Grammercy Bridge. Watching dark clouds build across the river, lightning included, white clouds and blue sky to the north and a sense of calm and contentment, which the dispatcher will no doubt screw up sooner than later.
It's a tough job, but someone has to do it and it may as well be me.