mv. Linda Reed and more new boats

I got word last night that Crounse Corp.'s new towboat -- the Linda Reed -- was in my area. So I waited for it to pass through the Gallipolis locks downbound so I could get some shots. It left the locks around 1:30 p.m. today, meaning my 9-year-old son and I could follow it downriver as it approached Huntington and have time to go to the store to get stuff for supper. (Yeah, other folks in the family have to eat, you know).

We caught the boat first at the launch ramp at Athalia, Ohio, then at old Lock and Dam 27, then at the boat ramp at the mouth of the Guyandotte River on the West Virginia side, and finally up in the sidewalk of the Robert C. Byrd Bridge in downtown Huntington. He and I shot more than 100 photos, a couple of which are included here.

The Linda Reed sure doesn't look like the other Crounse boats. By the way, while chasing the Linda Reed, we also saw the Jean Akin and the Enid Dibert. In fact, the Enid Dibert was upbound and the Jean Akin was downbound. They passed each other under Huntington's East End bridge, with the Dibert between the Ohio shore and the river pier closest to Ohio and the Akin on the other side of that pier.

The best part came when I got home and started looking up background on the Linda Reed. I found this report from Marcon International about boat orders from some of the larger and more recognizable carriers on the Ohio River. The report said the Linda Reed is the first of four such boats ordered by Crounse for delivery between now and next March.

This report also said AEP is to take delivery of its next 6,000-hp towboat, the Hoosier State, in December. It also said AEP has ordered four 4,000-horsepower boats for deliver this year and next.

And Marathon Petroleum has four 4,000-horsepower boats on order for delivery this year and next.

So maybe if I get to stay in the Huntington area and work instead of relocating to a city that doesn't have a decent navigable river, there will be lots more new boats to chase in the coming months.

Any help locating them as they move into this area would be appreciated.