Gotta love when the whole crew takes this much pride in their work and their boat!!

GRA 8 TUTORIAL. I WOULD THINK THAT THE DEPTH GAUGES WOULD BE MUCH MORE CONVEIENT TO BE PLACED LOOKING FORWARD INSTEAD OF TO THE LEFT AND DOWNWARD. THANX !!

Did not expect to see flip flops. I would have thought there would be a steel toe rule. Great tour..

2003?

Background music noted. RCS. RED CLAY STRAYS. Built 2023. Good looking wheelhouse.

Great job Mike!!! I wish I would have had more employees like you!!!!

Excellent handling!

I've shot the gap hundreds of times. No paperwork filed your all good no matter how you did it

A great piece of piloting! Well done. So all you Monday morning quarterbacks, STFU

made that flood gate many a time in the 60's and seventies. never seen it done exactly like that. However, a good transit is one that doesn't need a damage report!

Not bad driving at all in my opinion. Only thing I would have done differently is turned to starboard so my bow was pointed into the conditions, then drifted down with control instead of having to stop midway through to bank it. the head was swinging really fast so in that situation there wasn't many other options to stop that fast swing. for me, i'ts just never a good idea to let the conditions hit you abeam...that can lead to disaster. However, great job and you had plenty of room through the locks.

Granted, he held it a little higher than was necessary, but the point of holding it higher during such high water conditions are many, but most importantly: 1) To allow the pilot control of how far the tow falls, not surrendering that control to the river; 2) By doing this, it provides a safety cushion for flotsam in the wheels, or unexpected mechanical issues causing a loss of propulsion or steering (either partial or total), giving the crew time to respond; 3) to allow better set up for the gate and inherent eddy activity. The eddy action on both the east and west (as in this case) gates tends to push the tow towards the north. When a tow operator allows the tow to fall too far to the south and then must drive up towards the lock gates, he is continually pitching the weight of the tow into the direction of the eddy induced set. I cannot count how many tows I have seen that were forced to land either on the bulkhead or just inside the mouth of the gates in an effort to stop the set. Remember, the goal here is to clear without damaging anything and the ultimate quality of a pilots workmanship is not touching anything. No contact = No damage; 4) and finally, not pointing a tow northward and into the current is reckless. Presenting the broadside of a vessel to a 6+ mph current is borderline negligent, should you part a face wire at the penultimate moment the results could be devastating. Just taking imprudent risks over and over because you get away with it IS reckless. The point of growing as professionals is to develop new techniques that are safer and/or more efficient. The manner of passage depicted in the video, while certainly not perfect (admittedly the tow went a bit too high due to carrying more headway than was necessary) it was in control and optimal to handle the unexpected. It gives the pilot options. Simply driving straight across and allowing the current to place you wherever may be something that you can get away with, but it isn't optimal for control, or safety. To just broadly criticize the technique of the transit depicted in this video without offering anything constructive is pointless & childish, and frankly emphasizes your ignorance of operating a vessel in high water (strong current) conditions. If you have constructive comment or criticism, then, please, offer it up; otherwise spare us all the elementary school responses.

Dumbest way I've seen it made besides hitting it first...

Aviator not impressed.....

That's me