Navigation Channel Markers

[BobbyFunn]

Capta you had a cool job, doing on a Tuesday, what most of wait all month for.

I personally am not interested in dragging a keel and mast on the icw either. That sounds like torture. Safe, but not what i signed up for with sails. I can barely stand to motor to the boat ramp.

 

[JimInPB]

Further reading of tbe statutes spelled out that trapping was ok, killing vermin was ok, but releasing without a permit was not. So if you are a suburbanite, you must humanly free your vermin from life, but without pain and suffering, or projectiles.

Thank you.
That answered my question.

 

[JimInPB]

A sailboat, unlike a motor boat, has the option of going outside and SAILING, using little or no fuel. And yet so many sailors choose to go inside, be it because they are scared to go outside or, gee I don't know (weather not being a factor), and plodding along at a 3 knot average. Talk about inefficiency!
I've never done the ditch on a sail boat, and I can't imagine a more boring and unnecessarily time consuming trip. At least at 20 knots plus, it was fun, challenging and interesting.

I ducked into the ditch in St Augustine a few years ago & ran it up to Mayport, after sustaining rudder damage in an offshore squall. I did that because I wanted to get some running time on my temporary repairs to gain renewed confidence in the equipment before heading back outside. Other than that situation or something similar, I am on board with your line of thinking. For me the ditch is a haven of shelter & a good plan B, not a chosen thoroughfare.

 

[JimInPB]

What about one of these?

I am interested in building a trebuchet.

When I posted that an antique was a musket, I was oversimplifying. If you want the details of the legal definition, you can get it right from the horse's mouth - https://www.atf.gov/firearms/firear...arms-ammunition-gun-control-act-definitions-0

Since catapults existed before 1898, a copy of one should be covered.

 

[BobbyFunn]

Jim this was for a suburban community south of kansas city, your local laws may differ.

Basically, within city limits no using "guns" and had no interest in creative ways to get rid of rabbits. Hire pest control .

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

an or gulf rather than the icw?

Is the icw still used for that much bulk cargo? Its my understanding that there isnt enough cargo to pay for maintenance anymore.

The gulf ICW between Houston ( Galveston Bay), and New Orleans certainly is. IIt is the busiest stretch of ICW between Port Isabel Tex, and Norfolk Va, bar none. You will often have 5 or 6 tows in sight at one time there, and might have 25-30 pass you in a day.

One thing I tend to do when a tow with barges is catching me, is radio the captain and tell him-

"I'm going to flip a 180,, give you a one whistle, and fall in behind you. Then neither of us has to worry"
The normal response is one of appreciation, to which I reply- You're working and I'm playing, have a good day captain

Does two things- speeds up the whole passing situation- they are normally running only a knot or two faster, and all the OTHER commercial Capts, hear my boat name and end to be much friendlier Not a bad thing, and I've wound up talking with the same skippers later at locks, etc

And example

 

[capta]

The gulf ICW between Houston ( Galveston Bay), and New Orleans certainly is. IIt is the busiest stretch of ICW between Port Isabel Tex, and Norfolk Va, bar none. You will often have 5 or 6 tows in sight at one time there, and might have 25-30 pass you in a day.

One thing I tend to do when a tow with barges is catching me, is radio the captain and tell him-

"I'm going to flip a 180,, give you a one whistle, and fall in behind you. Then neither of us has to worry"
The normal response is one of appreciation, to which I reply- You're working and I'm playing, have a good day captain

Does two things- speeds up the whole passing situation- they are normally running only a knot or two faster, and all the OTHER commercial Capts, hear my boat name and end to be much friendlier Not a bad thing, and I've wound up talking with the same skippers later at locks, etc

Yep, exactly the right attitude and actions. I sure would have appreciated your actions when towing through Lauderdale and Miami ICW on the weekends.
I wonder if the states augmented the dredging in the southern ICW during the Bush years?

 

[DayDreamer41]

@Charlie Jones s/v Tehani that makes perfect sense in essence they pass more than twice as fast and you are alongside for a fraction of the time, I will have to remember that should I ever find myself in that situation.

 

[jssailem]

You suggest that sailing out side the channel markers is ok. Here in the PACNW especially on the Swinomish Channel caution is the word. This image is of the "Deep" water south side of the "Ditch". Note the 4 foot high shoal just beyond the Channel Marker. In normal high tide there may be 3 feet covering the shoal. This channel really is a ditch. Only the fool hardy venture near the markers. This one also has a gathering of rocks on the west side that makes even going near them an opportunity to repaint the bottom of your keel. Providing the water level is high enough. I was center in the channel at low (not minus tide) just to be safe.
North side of the South Channel Entrance.

And the south side of the channel gets even more sporty.

 

[capta]

You suggest that sailing out side the channel markers is ok.

If you are speaking of the statement that I made about there being more water on the outside of the channel around the marks, I definitely did not mean to imply that there was navigable water anywhere outside the channel. It was only said to emphasize that there is a significant shoal around the channel side of ICW marks to protect them from barges and boats. It is not a good idea to run close to any mark, anywhere, IMO.
I've also been told that the magenta line on the ICW charts should be viewed as if that line was of the deepest draft of a tug pushing a shallower barge several hundred feet long. That is why it wanders so far off center channel at times.

 

[jssailem]

We enjoy the occasional tug with tow...

And obsessionally they leave a trail like bread crumbs behind them.

Then there is the one that gets away.

It is still the wild wild West.

 

[Gunni]

I suppose that was a Royal FUBAR with clusters! Had to laugh when one of the barge hands asked the Canadian pleasure boat if he could take his megaton barge under tow. That's funny! Apparent physics class is not a barge crew educational requirement. How did they manage to flip that tug?

 

[pateco]

You could see and hear when the tug's diesel went into runaway consuming its own oil upside down.

 

[capta]

How did they manage to flip that tug?

It looked like a following current. The tug driver appeared to be worried about the land ahead, feeling his barge wasn't turning fast enough. Sort of like jack knifing a big rig. Only a tad more serious consequences. lol
Not knowing the area, I have to assume that this was standard procedure up there, because I've never towed on that short a cable. In my experience, hipping up would be my preferred method of handling this barge in inland waters. But again, perhaps that wasn't feasible in those waters.
Or as you said, a huge FUBAR.

 

[jssailem]

It is a fun video to watch and reflect on the power of water that is at play.
The site is Skookumchuck Narrows that has considerable tidal currents. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skookumchuck_Narrows
The tug was trying to navigate upstream. I think he powered up to get the barge moving and the current caught the front of the barge slowing the barges turn. The Tug tried to turn the barge when entering the narrows and the current caught tug forcing the tugs bow down stream. The rest was physics.

 

[dlochner]

Then there is the one that gets away.

Any whitewater kayaker knows, don't lean upstream, you'll go for a swim!

On Dlochner's requirement "... boaters who are knowledgeable about the rules of the road ....", after a few close passes with other boaters, I was curious about the general knowledge level of my fellow mariners. I took a US Power Squadron Seamanship course, which is the first of a series of USPS courses but is not required by any insurance company or state law. First, the class was exceedingly small - six students - indicating either a lack of marketing or interest. The other students, all power boaters, were willing to learn, but started out very ignorant of boating basics and steering rules - not a criticism for an introductory course. I believe they represented the people in the area most interested in learning and following the rules and safety guidance, but at the beginning were woefully ignorant of the basics. Most recreational boaters view it as they do any other hobby like riding a bicycle or playing tennis - if you graduated high school, you probably know enough of the basics that you can do it. My classmates viewed crossing situations like driving around a big parking lot at the mall - if you catch the other guys attention, you can go ahead. Watch out for all those guys, because they're not mean, they're ignorant.

Stories like this lead me to believe that boating licenses should be required. Of course that grates against (my admittedly narrow) libertarian streak. On the other hand, it is simply insane that any fool with enough money can go buy a boat that will do 50+ mph and there is no requirement to know anything about safe operation.

 

[pateco]

On the other hand, it is simply insane that any fool with enough money can go buy a boat that will do 50+ mph and there is no requirement to know anything about safe operation.

 

[dlochner]

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

 

[Gunni]

Stories like this lead me to believe that boating licenses should be required. Of course that grates against (my admittedly narrow) libertarian streak. On the other hand, it is simply insane that any fool with enough money can go buy a boat that will do 50+ mph and there is no requirement to know anything about safe operation.

That could said about a lot of lethal items in general circulation here in the U.S. I believe the standard rebuttal is that bad guys will ignore the requirement to license. Perhaps make competency and a criminal background check a requirement for sale. At which point manufacturers trade groups can be expected to point to our “inalienable right” to Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (at 50kts and in front of 2,500 horsepower!) So we remain committed to our faith in lawyers and insurance companies.

 

[capta]

Stories like this lead me to believe that boating licenses should be required.

I think it's pretty strange that I have over a handful of licenses to operate watercraft professionally, and yet I'm one of the most anti-license guys around. Perhaps, if I thought that these courses for the pleasure craft certifications were anything more that a revenue stream for the states, I'd change my mind. Even the lower level USCG master's tests for certification are a sham.