Safety Aboard the Tugboats
- info@sssicamous
- Jul 8
- 5 min read
Barge services were mainly done by the Canadian Pacific Railway company at the time, but the Canadian government saw a need to modernize their tug fleet running on Okanagan lake as Canadian National had a previous mishap with a death occurring on their Tug No5. Their barge service was limited to going between the government dock in Penticton and Vernon.
If weather was poor the rear winch on all of the tugs would have been used. However in practice, pushing was the most used and preferred way to move rail barges. The aft winch on the CN no.6 is still in near perfect condition. Exposed steering shafts allowed the tug to be steered with this winch using some spare cable set around the pulleys. When tightened, the cables would pull left or right depending on the rigging. Hydraulic winch steering was a way to minimize the emergency if the steering cables got disconnected by any means.
In the photo above is the Davit crane system aboard the tug leaning off the funnel as a main safety feature. It serves two main purposes: to lift or lower the two lifeboats aboard or serve with any excessive loads of weight.
For hoisting and setting there was a standard hydraulic crane though the boom itself was manual. Using a watch tackle that led to the base of the boom, you could lift and lower it depending on where you wanted the crane to go using a locking lug system that would control the horizontal axis. Radial Davits like those seen on the top of the Sicamous and rear deck of the Naramata were far more common. The Crane on the back of the CN No.6 would have been quite advanced for the time.
With many cramped internal rooms and decks, the CN No.6 has many port holes used as escape hatches. If there was a fire or compartmental flooding and you needed to evacuate quickly but the stairs were blocked, these hatches were equipped for a ladder roll down and the crew could get out.
Hull repair has not changed since the age of sail. Pipe and boiler patch ups from the era of ironclads have also remained stagnant since their invention. Taking a piece of wedged wood and oakum and just hammering it with a mallet into the leak is an effective method to this day from the past millennium. Pipes can be repaired with steel and rope..
The greatest factors in maritime safety would be built into the regulation and construction of the ships themselves. Naval doctrine in Canada, especially around safety have been spurred by incidents at sea, in home ports and abroad. Anytime someone loses a boat or sailors it is tragedy and often due to very avoidable or preventable issues. Despite differences in the civilian and work boat uses they exist in the same environment. Advancements in diagnostics aboard means smaller issues go unchecked far less frequently.
Shipwrights started staying away from wood once steel became cheaper, thinner and lighter. No wood means less opportunity for flames to spread in the event of fire. When the new corridors were built, they built them with a possible fire in mind. These halls and rooms would keep smoke and flames confined while sailors fought them back. Access to bunker gear and appropriate oxygen tanks meant fire attack teams didn't need to use asbestos suits or diving tanks unrated for high heat.
Communications advancements decreased the amount of possible error in operating the ship. Ship strikes and running aground could be avoided by quicker access for response.
As detailed by one of the Tug volunteers at the Marine Heritage Society, Man Overboard drills could be done with an actual member of the crew! An oiler or deckhand would toss on a suit and life jacket and jump in. The deckhands would then race to get them out of the water with various methods. Methods could include a ladder, rope, or life ring and they would try until one proved successful. Officers would watch and critique for future instances.
Crew safety equipment aboard would have looked like: (click the arrow to expand)
Firefighting buckets:
Located on all decks for early suppression, these buckets would be filled with sand initially. Once used they could be refilled at a sink or water pump aboard for continual firefighting. When sand was dumped on the root of the fire it quickly smothers it evenly. Water on top of said sand can put out any embers and hopefully snuff out the fire entirely.
Hand pressurized water pumps
Coming right from the lake water intake, these pumps fed the numerous fire hoses aboard. On one knee, the operator would quickly pump up pressure with the plunger.
Fire hose storage
Bright red brackets line the hull of the CN no.6, They are not for life rings as you might guess on first glance but actually for fire hoses. These hoses would shower an even and pressurized amount of water to properly keep the fire at bay. This method allows for a more consistent and controlled fire suppression than water buckets.
Life rings
One of the most recognizable pieces of boating equipment next to the wheel and anchor, is the life ring. These would be used in the case of a man overboard. These allow the sailor to float without using body heat/energy. Pulling in a life ring is also much easier than a person because it has an already established point of connection.
Life jackets
Life jackets help to keep the head above water. Recreational boaters should ALWAYS keep a life jacket on. Working boats are very different. Being large, bulky, and unbreathable, in a cramped and overheated engine room that gets up to +45 in the Summer, life jackets become a bit of a danger. The jackets would only be used in the event of an emergency or doing a task that increases your likelihood of going overboard and would be kept accessible for those times.
Navigation lights
Also called running lights, large boxes with lamps in them are built so that other vessels can tell what way you are facing and your general location. One bright light in the center or two on the fore and aft of the vessel. Two side lights coloured to determine starboard and port. Green being starboard and red being port. The main mast on the deck above the bridge would hold two lights and these would both be for signalling that the boat was working. Orange and white on the main mast indicates that they would be hauling barges.
Spotlight
On the very top of the CN No.6 there is a spotlight. Working boats could use these to navigate away from rocks or ice while underway. If the tug was pushing barges, the spotlight would be used to aide the workers in their docking and unloading. In niche use cases the spotlight could double as a distress signal utilizing a shutter to flash Morse code.
These are just a few of the items that are installed on tugs to assist with crew safety.
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