Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Final comment on the show. Captain Ted's move of grain barges from Indiana Harbor to the Calumet River lacks alittle reality. When I sailed there were no grain elevators in Indiana Harbor. Sure looks like from my days sailing they are in Milwaukee. Clock tower looks like Milwaukee. Why not be alittle more accurate on details.
At least the show gave the Great Lakes some air time.

Just a heads up reminder for Canadian History Channel viewers GLW premiers Monday August 27th at 9pm.

The third boat at Sturgeon Bay was the Kay E. Barker. That's the one they were going out to when they got stuck in the ice.

The boat in Thunder bay was the Saginaw.

Definately the Cort and the Lee Tregurtha. It seems to me that the producers intent was to make the viewers believe it was just one single boat. This show is realy a waste of dedicated boatnerds time, thank goodness for DVR's, at least it'a just 42 minutes wasted.

What two boats where the tug crews pushing into lay-up in Sturgeon Bay? Looked to me like the Cort and the Lee Tregurtha.
I'm not sure which boat they were trying to break out of Thunder Bay.

[quote="Cloahsark sark"]Wonder if the left coasters cut up deadliest catch ?[/quote]

They did (and still do), especially those in the fishing industry.

Wonder if the left coasters cut up deadliest catch ?

I watched the show one time and do not believe that any professional tug men could act that unprofessional. I think the show is scripted and staged to add so called excitement.

What you are seeing here is a different method or philosophy for towing barges. While it is true towing off one corner does make it easier to get on the hip once you are inside the harbor Muskegon is a fairly large lake with lots of room for letting go and facing up or hipping. The barge would have towed much better however with a bridle on each corner. In fact you can tow right into alot of docks with the right wind and a little room. You do not want to tow a barge without at least trying to have someway to put people on board to let go tow bridles and hook up the lines for facing up or hipping. Some barges if they do have too much freeboard have built in ladders, can be rigged with a rope ladder or you can put up a straight ladder from the tug and a man or men scramble up. You never know when you may have to get aboard a barge or ship in tow to rehook a broken towline, drop an anchor, pump it out, or just face up to go through a river or some restricted waterway. Of course to do this it helps to have some experienced people that have done it before or at least witnessed it being done.

I think allot of Us Boatnerds have never or will ever(Me)get a chance to board a tug or a lake Boat.Versus You Guy's that have sailed and share Your wisdom.I am a 30 year carpenter,and now a Truck Driver.I can not watch building shows,or see a comercial on t v were there is a partial built house with just studs and plates standing.with know wall sheeting anywhere,with a guy pounding on a board and another staring all day at a blue print,getting nothing done.and not a leather tool bag or a skill saw anywhere.so I see how it would be hard to watch.these camera people and executive directors don't know a thing about sailing and I am sure the guy,s on the tugs will get a hard time after the show hits tv.and there superiors see them in the bar.mn brett

[quote="Guest"]What is the reason they towed the barge with one cable hooked to the starboard bow instead of hooking it in the middle of the barge, or putting a bit on it that hooks to both corners of the bow? Wouldn't it tow straighter, especially when they were entering the harbor in Muskegon.[/quote]

Never been to Muskegon but IMO when dealing with unmanned barges the faster you can get on and off the tow the better and safer you are. When towing you are almost always in higher winds and a lot of harbors on the lakes are small so it can get hairer if trying to get a guy across and then dropping your bridle in high winds then going around and faceing up, you can be on the beach in no time. Never tow from the middle you will end up get your gear caught under the barge then you either lose your gear by chaffing or lose manuerverbility because you dont know where the gear is so you have to take your time till you can account for it, remember the beach is almost always getting closer when doing these manuvers. Even with a bridle a barge or barges do not tow perfectly straight the first priority of towing is maintaining enough speed to actually tow the barge behind you, the angle of the dangle isnt a big concern.

The mute setting really comes in handy for this show. I can watch the action and pretty much figure out what's happening without all the vocal dramatics. The most recent episode (8/9) seemed to be in fast-forward or quick pan-in-and-out all the time. It was hard to visually follow the action, partly because of it being night footage and, if I didn't know better, it appears tug captains do nothing but light one cigarette after another while going into tantrums to break the monotiny. I didn't see or hear much of the "skill from experience" they rely on to do the job right.

[quote="Les Weston"]
I;m leaning towared dropping this program. I am getting tired of "the legend", but enjoyed the segmentas from Duluth and Thunder Bay. I think I will watch it until this series ends. I agree that it seems to be getting better.[/quote]

I'll watch the show. They add a little drama, just like Ice Road truckers and Deadest Catch, no big deal. To most people, it's a good look at things that most will never see from that perspective, like seeing them break ice in Thunder Bay and help in a ship, or the engine room of the tug in Duluth. I wonder if they did any filming in the day time, or once the shipping season really kicked off, after the ice was gone. The inner Duluth harbor and the Thunder Bay harbor were about the only places there was ice this last winter on Superior besides White Fish Bay, and none of it lasted very long.
To a more trained eye for boating, like most of the people on this site are I'm sure, it's fun to try to catch where they spliced different takes of film together to make a shot. One second the captain has a hat on, next shot he doesn't, then he does again, or the hydraulic pilot house on the pusher tug is up in one shot, down in the next, or there is some daylight out, then there isn't, then there is again, or the famous cigarettes, they are almost whole one shot, then it's 3/4 gone in the next, then it's all back again in the next shot! Fun to pick out the little indifference's!

Do they only operate at night? I watched the show last evening and there was not one scene that took place during the daylight hours.

I stopped watching the program after the first episode aired on TV and have not gone back and watched it since. Then again, just give it time and I am sure it will be out on DVD eventually and also be available on the history channel's website. The only thing is will it be worth spending the money to order it on DVD or purchase it from the history channel's website?

[quote="Guest"]What is the reason they towed the barge with one cable hooked to the starboard bow instead of hooking it in the middle of the barge, or putting a bit on it that hooks to both corners of the bow? Wouldn't it tow straighter, especially when they were entering the harbor in Muskegon.[/quote]

I also wondered about that. It would sure seem better to tow using a cable that attaches to corners with a single cable to the tug. Any of you "Deckies" out there have any input?

I;m leaning towared dropping this program. I am getting tired of "the legend", but enjoyed the segmentas from Duluth and Thunder Bay. I think I will watch it until this series ends. I agree that it seems to be getting better.

I caught last night's Great Lakes Warriors. Seems to have calmed down on the drama a bit. They had a some what interesting segment with "Capt. Nice" taking a barge into Chicago. Once you got past the attempted drama it was interesting. Don't give up on it folks, try to look for the stuff you're interested in and past the predictable drama attempts.

[quote="Sherman"]I enjoy watching the scenery and trying to out beat my wife on what freighter we see with there names blocked out. Any true boat nerd knows the names. Can't figure out why the blocked there names: can anyone tell me why the did that? TIA[/quote]

It may have to do with using the name(s) in a for-profit venture. The shipping companies either were not or could not be contacted for permission, or they refused based on not knowing how their names/brands would be portrayed. If you notice, this is happening more and more on vaious TV shows.

What is the reason they towed the barge with one cable hooked to the starboard bow instead of hooking it in the middle of the barge, or putting a bit on it that hooks to both corners of the bow? Wouldn't it tow straighter, especially when they were entering the harbor in Muskegon.

It's getting better - better job of documenting tonight. Also started to insert some shipwreck history and a bit more focus on ship handling. So far, each has been better than the last - not bad progress for a new series, in my opinion.