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Captain Al Casper steps out of the wheelhouse, to feed some of the wildlife floating along nearby.
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Pilot, Clay Culp, steering the m/v Nick G Buford on the Tennessee River.
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Eddie (deckhand) and Tyler (callman) work to resecure a fleet of barges after "making the cut" at the Kentucky Lock and Dam.
Water levels above and below a dam may differ by up to 80' in depth and Locks are a kind of "doorway" built into the dam to allow towboats to pass through. Many of these were built decades ago and with the changes in individual size and tonnage moved, crews are often required to cut the tow in half or thirds in order to compartmentalize and get everything through in sections.
Making the cut is often the most dangerous part of the job, as deckhands are required to remove, handle and reconnect heavy cables, catch lines to slow the tow (when the towboat is no longer connected) and avoid twisting a series of barges up to 1000" in length and breaking them all loose.TVTTennessee Valley TowingUSAdocumentaryprojectriver project
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Captain Al Casper reviews the upcoming crew-change manifest scheduled for the following day.
Unlike most office work, towboat schedules are not based on the common 9-5pm workday. Instead, crews are required to live aboard for 28 day tours, or in some cases, up to 150+ days. During that time, each will be tasked with a 12 hour split shift every day.
The front watch, often directed by the Captain, is from 5am-11am and 5pm-11pm. The back watch fills the gap between 11pm-5am and 11am-5pm.
The Captain is responsible for approving and assigning shifts for incoming crew members to compliment the remaining crew, as schedules are rarely changed after assigments are established.
On the river, a briefcase and a suit are replaced by luggage and a life vest.TVTTennessee Valley TowingUSAdocumentaryprojectriver project
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A towboat passes by at night on the Tennessee River, casting red, white and blue flood lights on their carried tow.
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Captain Al Casper radios to a nearby passing towboat prior to exiting the Ohio River onto the Tennessee River near Paducah Kentucky.
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A spot light scans the woody banks during high water levels on the Tennessee River.
Unlike normal roads, steersman on the river do not have the luxary of street lamps lighitng their way. When the sun goes down, a pilot relies on his radar, lights, experience and instinct.TVTTennessee Valley TowingUSAdocumentaryprojectriver project
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A deckhand stands at the head of a barge, as its being moved into place while building tow for pickup.
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Captain Al Casper pulls the "sticks" to munever his vessel into place while picking up tow.
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Jake Jones, deckhand, holds a ratchet used in tightening rigging so barges are held securly together.
A single cable is seen in frame, anchored to a kevel.
In a fleet of barges, kevels from up to four barges are collectively used for cable rigging that secures weights in excess of 5000 tons.TVTTennessee Valley TowingUSAdocumentaryprojectriver project
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Bryce Yarbrough puts his back into pulling cable through a kevel.
The cable will then be looped around the kevel and pulled back down to be hooked with a rigging ratchet to secured.TVTTennessee Valley TowingUSAdocumentaryprojectriver project
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Tyler, Bruce and Jake listen as Captain Al Casper gives orders from the upper deck of the wheelhouse.
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As nighttime falls, headlamps are turned on. The crew of the m/v Nick G Buford and the Bullgang stop to double check rigging, before moving on to the next barge.
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Late into the night, first mate, Bryce Yarbrough pulls on rigging line while cigarette smoke floats in from outside of the frame.
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A member of the m/v Nick G Buford deck crew works by headlamp to secure a line while building tow on the Ohio River south of Cairo, IL.
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Members of the "Bullgang" and m/v Nick G Buford deck crews take a break, awaiting a final barge to be added to the tow.
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A member of the Bullgang stares down at rigging, while building tow late into the evening on the Ohio River in Western Kentucky.
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Deckhand, Jacob "Bonecrusher", cranks a rigging ratchet, tighten the lines between barges.
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First mate Bryce Yarbrough, takes a cigarette break in between ratcheting rigging on the barge fleet.
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Deckhand, Jake "Bone-Crusher" Jones, uses a breaker bar to gain leverage to tighten down a rigging ratchet.
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Engineer of the m/v Nick G Buford watches a pressure guage after making repairs and adjustments to the engine.
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Deckhand, Eddie Henderson radios the wheelhouse, walking across the tow.
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Deckhand, Shannon Kelso dons a full yellow rainsuit as the weather began to take a turn on us north of Ricketts Creek, Tennessee.
When building tow, deckhands pull cable rigging as tight as possible by hand and then loop it over a hook on each arm of a ratchet. The center crank on the ratchet can then be turned to draw in the arms, tightening the cables to a secure level.
In his hand is a "toothpick", used to get leverage on the ratchet's hook. The chainlinks act as adjustment notches at the end of a tight cable. The shortest link is used in order to tighten up the cable.
Toothpicks then allow the deckhand to pull the hook through a link in the chain and secure with a metal "O" ring for tightening.TVTTennessee Valley TowingUSAdocumentaryprojectriver project
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A silhouette of rookie deckhand, Aaron ___ standing at the head of the tow is cast along the wall of the Wilson Lock.
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Fog and the smoke of deckhand Aaron's cigarette floats through the light of his headlamp.
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River Project Documentary
TVTTennessee Valley TowingUSAdocumentaryprojectriver project
River Project Documentary
TVTTennessee Valley TowingUSAdocumentaryprojectriver project
River Project Documentary
TVTTennessee Valley TowingUSAdocumentaryprojectriver project
