This is a work boat, not a cruise ship!
I have often heard it said that life on a tugboat is not for everyone. And I must say from experience that this is so! I have been asked many times what kind of work we did on the ship. It’s far from a stupid question because most people who have seen a tug have only seen it from a distance pushing barges back and forth.
Most people think that we actually did almost nothing! SAY OH! Hardly! There’s always something going on on a ship of the line! The one big project you’ll see on every ship with most companies takes place from spring through late summer or early fall. And that’s chipping, grinding, priming, and painting the outside of the boat from top to bottom. The interior is usually put away for late summer and after the exterior is finished.
Sometimes we sooge (wash) the boat with soap and water. Internal repairs (depending on the job) are done by the crew and/or the boss. Things like polishing brass horns, ornaments, and instruments, for example, is more of a skill than a job. A list of some of our work on the ship includes, but is not limited to:
Make locks, make bridges (indicate distances for captain), clear ice from decks, repair soundings, repair sounding cables, put eyes on lines, towing work, adjust towing, replace flags and pennants, wake up the next watch, clean windows, set up head gear, dust, clean captain’s room (which included changing his sheets, making his bed, cleaning his bathroom, etc.), making coffee in the galley for the next guard, prepare coffee in the wheelhouse for the next captain.
We also make bumpers for use in locks, counting rigging, taking out trash, sweeping and mopping all floors and carpets, trailer building, cleaning interior walls, checking barges for water (leaks), repairing leaks found, pump water out of large leaking tanks, clean stove and stainless steel doors, put away dishes, put warning light and signal lights on head of trailer, replace batteries in those lights, defrost lines with flashlights and tarps in the winter, help the boss with any project he might need help with, cleaning the wheelhouse, any job the captain asks you to do, and much, much more!
When you work on a ship of the line, you literally live your job. Every watch has a cleaning duty. The ship is your home 9 months of the year, so your crew becomes your family. You work 12 hours a day in two 6-hour shifts. You work seven days a week for at least 30 days in whatever weather mother nature throws at you. I didn’t like some of the work I had to do. But it was the best job I’ve ever had!