Haven't been near a computer for quite a while now. just thought I'd check in. I don't have any pics to post until I get home. I'm trying to sort through all the little things on the boat that need fixing, a little painting project here, a squeaky hinge there.........that kind of stuff. I had a cadet from Maine Maritime last week and put him to work degreasing the engine room. My brother is working here now, and I'm trying to bring him up to speed with the line handling and such. That's probably the biggest thing one has to learn on a tug, even if they've spent their whole life on boats. a nine inch ship line weighs something like 12 pounds per foot, and it takes a little getting used to. Also, we have to throw lines a lot when we're coming into a dock - there usually aren't people there to catch lines for us. So a new guy has to spend a little bit of time learning how to get a line on a bitt that's maybe 6-8-10 feet away without jumping off the boat. The other part of line handling - probably the most important thing - is learning how to make them up. That means tying it off. It's very important to do it in a manner that it can be untied at any time, like maybe when it has a strain on it or something like that. We can't have any "hatchet knots". Also you've got to learn how to lead it around the bitts so that it doesn't get fouled, or fetch up on anything like a sharp edge maybe. So all that stuff takes some time to master, even for a guy that's been around big boats all his life. I'm thinking he's going to be just fine once he gets to all that, and gets used to his brother telling what to do all the time. So far he's doing great, and I have high hopes for him. The really cool thing is that I know that he knows how to take care of a boat. The other I guy I had thought his only job was line handling. That is a big part of it, but there's also a lot of other things to do besides sitting in the galley watching Jerry Springer. It's not like we labor all day either, it's real laid back. I always say "It beats a real job any day of the week". but things do need to be done. Take on a little project every day, every week. No big rush