Quote:
Originally Posted by garcmol
Well that officially sucks! How does that work? They tow or push the rig?
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We tie fourteen roustabouts in rope harnesses and throw them off the front of the rig... They tow... The roughnecks, next position up the food chain ladder get tied up and thrown off the back of the rig... they push... and are slightly more proven, so if we have to stop suddenly, the only ones at risk of being run over are the worms... <<< roustabouts... new dudes... J/K...
We have a tow bridle that is hooked up to an ocean going tug and we cruise along at a stately 4-4.5 knots or so... The tug will usually have 1/4 to 1/2 mile of cable out to reduce the shock loading of the differential heave characteristics of the two vessels... We are considered a barge... as we are not self propelled, but no, no contact between vessels is allowed... We dont have enough life jackets or expanding foam spray cans to fill the hull if we suffer a skin tear or puncture below the water line...
We are 290 feet long and 240 or so wide, and sit 40-50 feet off the water at tow draft, they are about 50-80 feet long and 20-25 feet or so wide and sit on the water... so... we use cable.. "properly referred to as a tow bridle to absorb the differential shock loads...
There are also dry tow vessels... I'll see if I can find a few pics and post them up... These vessels flood down, (basically they sink... in a controlled situation
most of the time) and the rig is floated over them, and then they unsink, (is that a word?) and the rig is then high and dry... Believe me, these mofo's are some seriously big ships... They are Post PanaMax Vessels, or ships too big for the Panama Canal...
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