In the second photo, look at the lower right corner. Those barges were loaded to 10.5 feet. That's maybe 337 tons over the 1,500 considered normal for the usual nine-foot draft? I didn't get a good count, but I think there were 14 of them, plus an empty chemical barge at the head of the tow. Multiply 14 times 1837 and you get 25,725 total tons being pushed upstream. That's a lot of coal.
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The old L.Fiore still looks the same as it did in 1965,except for the hi tec stuff on top. I was a young deckhand on her during 1965& 66. Most of the time we worked the lower Ohio. Making tow in the Green River was hard work,a very hot muggy place in the summer for sure. You had to back out with your tow, it was about a mile out to the Ohio River as i remember.What I do remember about backing out with15 loads the pilot had to be careful or the prop wash would sink the barges you were faced up on. It happen once while I was on the boat, sinking one of the barges we were faced up on,and breaking the face wires on the boat.My mate known as "Jigs" was not happy with him that was for sure!!!,Hours later were were under way again.
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