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Capt. Don Stober
The M/V Jamie H. is put through the paces in Mobile Harbor, AL
| The M/V Jamie H. is the February 2006 Towboat of the Month. A little 800hp shift boat- a lunch-bucket boat at that (!)-chosen as Towboat of the month!?!?! Yeah, yeah I know it does not seem like a very exciting or impressive vessel at first glance but to drive it, to actually work this boat within its element, you cannot help but be impressed. Owned and operated by Henry Marine Service, Inc (251.438.9442) of Mobile, Alabama, the Jamie H. was refitted and purpose re-built back in 1997 for one job; to shift barges at the maniacally busy Mobile River Terminal (MRT). MRT is a dry-cargo bulk handling facility operated by Warrior & Gulf Navigation Company. They load and unload ships both to barge and to ground. Among the many other changes during the 1997 rebuild, the Jamie H. was fendered all the way around including the inside of the pushknees. "That is an MRT specific modification for shifting empties (barges) behind a coke ship", explains Capt. Don Stober. Capt. Don as he is respectfully known through out the area, worked at MRT far longer than he cares to admit, now retired, he still spends the occasional watch behind the sticks of the Jamie. "Nothing else out there handles quite like that little boat, all you have to do is think about what you want to do and that boat responds. It has traditional rudders but they are so over-sized and exceedingly efficient it is almost like having a Z-drive stuffed under there. If you are standing up and put the sticks hard over, the wheel-wash shoots straight out the side of the boat and almost no thrust is left driving you ahead. This thing turns!", he says with a rye, knowing smile. "This is the most capable shift vessel I have ever piloted," he admits; and he should know, Capt. Don has driven a double handfull of different vessels at MRT over the past three decades. While not a powerhouse by any means it's twin Cummins main engines get the job done in all but the most severe high water. "A pilot always wants more horse power, but if you drive with intelligence and don't try to fight mother nature, the Jamie is perfectly capable of doing the job it was made for," asserts Capt. Don. Things have changed and the demands of the job at MRT have sadly mandated the replacement of the Jamie H. with a larger, more powerful vessel, capable of longer trips with more crew-friendly quarters. The Jamie H. is still working hard however, getting the job done reliably and expertly at the Alabama Power, Bary Steam Plant just north of Mobile, Alabama. Her remarkable agility is continuing to satisfy any pilot lucky enough to stand a watch in her little wheelhouse. -Robert Rishel Senior Editor towboater.com |
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