The Drivetrain

Safe/Sea captains have a lot of tools at our disposal. We have a single engine boat and several twin engine boats. If we need lots of horsepower or speed, we use the twins. If we need to go into shallow water or don't need the speed and horsepower, we use the single.

Pictured below are towing tools laid out on the dock. All of our boats carry 600 feet of Amsteel Spectra 7/16" hawser. There are a wide variety of boats out there, so to make the connection to the boat that needs to be towed, we have a wide variety of bridles. For towing smaller boats with a trailer eye at the bow, the choice is easy; we use a single double clip line of Spectra or a 20 foot 1/2 inch single clip line made of nylon with a bit more stretch. For boats without a trailer eye, like larger power boats or sailboats, we use one of three double leg bridles. This choice is a little tougher and it depends on the boat size, sea conditions and configuration of attachment points.

All of our boats have an inventory of salvage equipment, tools, and gear to attempt to handle (or at least stabilize) whatever type of job we are faced with. We have a multitude of pumps for dewatering. If we need to dive, we have a scuba tank and a 50 foot regulator. If there is a hole in a boat, we have epoxies, an air-powered drill/driver with plywood patches, wood plugs, and other trade tricky patching stuff. If I told you all of our secrets, I'd have to kill you. ;-) Below is a selection of the bag of tricks carried aboard the Titan.

This stuff isn't just "set it and forget it," though. It needs frequent inspection and maintenance to keep it ready, as it's usefulness will deteriorate over time, especially as it's constantly exposed to salt water and the pounding of the towboat. My work is never done! (That's a good thing, especially these days!)

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It's official, the season is in full swing. By the time Memorial Day weekend was over more then a few boats were trapped by fishing nets, fouled in there own anchor line, and a couple of close calls with fires; but those were just the more interesting cases!

We also helped a number of members back to home port after they experienced simple malfunctions of some sort. But who wants to hear about that boring routine stuff?

Here are a couple of pictures of a boat that struck Mount Tom Rock off Prudence Island on Memorial Day. These folks were very lucky! Another inch or two and the strut comes through the bottom of the boat, sending it for a trip toward the bottom.

In 2007, the blue trawler below was not so lucky. She hit Mount Tom Rock and punched a hole in her keel under the generator and had to run it up on the beach just outside Potter's Cove. I removed the six passengers and transferred them to the Bristol Harbor Patrol who took two of them to be checked for minor injuries. The good news was that they were all ok, and the boat was saved after extensive repairs.

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