All of those levers and knobs and pully-downy-thingies confused me, so my sweet Hubs decided he would break it down for me, using little words. :)
See those little numbers I inserted in the picture? That's going to make it easier for me to explain what each of these doohickeys and thingamabobs and pully-downy-things are. Now before you get excited and begin to think I know something about this, let me assure you my sweet man is right beside me as I type....making sure I don't royally screw this up.
1. The two numbers ones next to the red lights are RPM gauges.
These instruments measure the rotation speed of the shaft that is turning the propeller and displays the information as how many revolutions are made per minute. Basically, they show how fast the shaft is turning. The shaft is about a foot in diameter and make over 500 rotations per minute.
2. The number two is one I might could have figured out on my own. It's a navigation screen. The program they use is called Coastal Explorer. It shows the location of other ships, buoy markers, docks and other stuff in the river. The river can be a dark place at night and visibility can be really bad during fog and rain. This way we don't have head on collisions :)
3. These are the big brother cameras. JUST JOKING!!! These cameras show the Captain the deck, galley, etc. This way he can keep an eye on everything that is happening while he is navigating. One camera shows the starboard side of the tug. When hubs is working a trip line, which is a line that is used to hold the tug against the current, the Captain can see if the deckhand gets accidentally caught up in the line. The other camera shows the stern of the ship. It is used to watch out when a Hawser, a 12 strand rope, is used. This entails pulling 300 ft of this heavy rope up onto the stern of the tugboat. If hubby were to fall during this, he would be sucked up under the tug or get trapped between the tug and the ship...either of which could be deadly. The third camera is aimed into the engine room. This helps the Captain monitor any alarms and other situations.
4, OOOOO! OOOO! I know! *waves hand frantically in the air* This green looking thing is the side of a huge container ship. Yep. All up close and personal.
5. This is a compass. Once again, navigation is complicated.
6. There are two of these little guys....they control the wench. What is a wench you ask? It's a deckhand's best friend.This is a mechanical wheel of sorts that pulls the line in mechanically, thus saving a LOT of work.
7. There are two of these bad boys too. These are throttles. In my mind, they are the revving up thingies. The throttle controls how much power the engine gets...kind of like the gas pedal in a car.
8. Again, good things come in pairs. There are two of these guys too. Meet our friends, The Rudder Brothers. They steer the boat.
9. These are twin air controls. These control which set of throttles is being used.
10. This is the radar, which is another means of seeing where things are. You can see where the river banks are and other objects in the river.
11. This is the steering wheel. HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Did you fall for that? If you did, then go back and read point #8. This is called a "clearview". It is the tugboat's answer for windshield wipers. It spins to clear the window of fog and rain.
12.I put these in by accident....ignore them :)
