In a tideway, or in a breeze, the steamer first anchors ahead, and takes in and secures hawsers; the the ship weighs, lastly, the steamer.
Should the breeze freshen and the sea get up, direct the steamer to veer a breaker astern, which hook and take in, that, in the event of a hawser parting, there may be no delay in hauling on board another.
When towing alongside, fore-an-aft springs should be passed in addition to the bow and quarter lashings; one hawser going from the after part of the ship to the fore part of the steamer, and the other reversely.
In May 1892, H.M.S. "Narcissus" towed H.M.S. "Shah," from Portsmouth to Bermuda; the latter ship had been dismantled, and everything except the lower masts taken out of her.
She was towed at the full length (150 fathoms) of two 6 inch wire hawsers.
Although the "Narcissus" was fitted with towing bollards on the main deck, it was considered best for various reasons to tow from the upper deck. The Conning Tower forward in the Gun Battery was selected to tow from. To make the hawsers fast, the "Narcissus" used 8 shackles of her own sheet cable 2 1/8 (inch). The cable was middled and a complete round turn taken around the Conning Tower, the ends of the cable being brought aft, and out through two fairleads built in on the quarter, and then shackled on to the end of the wire hawsers, a swivel piece being at the end of the cable; a Senhouse slip was introduced into each part of the cable on the quarter deck, the whole being arranged so as to ensure there being nearly a length of cable outside the ship.
To prevent rendering round the Conning Tower, and to hold the "Shah" if one hawser went, Blake stoppers were put on abaft the Conning Tower and lashed to securing bollards, wire seizings and lashings were also passed round the cables at the Conning Tower, and strong cross lashings just abaft. Plaking was placed along the deck under the cable, also wood chocks, or stanchions faced with iron, were placed at the after battery doors, and round the Conning Tower to take the chafe, &c.
In the "Shah", her two bower cables (2¼ inch) were double bitted on the main deck, compressors boused to &c., the ends then led forward through a hole cut in the upper deck (lined with iron), out tyhrough the bow gun ports, swivel pieces put on each end, and the wire hawsers shackled on, having about a shackle of each bower cable outside the hawse. Senhouse ships [sic] were introduced into the cable on the upper deck, to enable it to be shipped if necessary. Two spare 6 inch hawsers were supplied to the "Shah".
A crew to the "Shah" was supplied from the "Narcissus" consisting of 1 Lieutenant, 1 Sub-Lieutenant, 2 Warrant Officers, and 100 men.
The "Shah" was taken in tow at Spithead on the 10th May, the ships with the "Seahorse" in company arrived at Madeira on the 16th, coaled, and left again on the 19th without the "Seahorse", which ship returned to England; they arrived at Bermuda on the 31st May. To tow through the Narrows, only one hawser was used, and this shortened well up. Fair weather was experienced on the passage out.
561. A SHIP IN TOW OF ANOTHER. — When the ship ahead puts her helm down, to go round, the ship in tow puts her helm up, and always endeavours to keep directly in her leader's wake.
562. BOATS IN TOW. — Dismount the gun, and place it at the bottom of the boat amidships; shift the shot-boxes aft, and haul the boat close up under the stern — the closer the better. Tow with a hawser from each quarter, to keep her steady, and as a precaution in case one carries away. Reeve one through the shackle in the stem, take a turn round the standing thwart, and let a hand hold on to it, ready to ship in a moment; take the other also round the thwart, frapping it in slackly to the stem, (for if out on the bow, the boat would steer widly), and let it be similarly attended. Caution the cox[s]wain to be particularly careful about the steerage; call all out of the boat but these three hands, and see the hawsers parcelled in the nips.
Watch the boat yourself from the steamer, not leaving her for a moment, and acuaint the officer of the watch should the swell of the water rise up to the gunwale, that the steamer's speed may be slackened. If you see the water come over, do not wait till she buries herself, but give the order immediately to let gi in the boat.
I had the misfortune once to be implicated in the loss of a pinnace that was stowed under, in a calm day, without a ripple on the water; and therefore know that you cannot be too careful.
In towing a light boat, reeve the tow-rope through the ring in the bow, and secure to the bolt in the keel. If secured forward, you run the risk of tearing the bows out of her.
It is not generally known how useful a common rocket may be in establishing communication between two vessels in a heavy sea.
A common 1-lb. rocket will carry athwart the wind a small fishing line over 200 feet.
In cases where a steamer has run close to a disabled ship to take her in tow, rockets have been found very serviceable. When firing the rocket, have the fishing line flaked down on the deck, with one end fast on deck, the other hitched to the end of the rcoket staff, a few inches from its lower end; now give the rocket a good elevation and fire it, and if it is a good ordinary ship's rocket it will carry the line over 200 feet.
On to this line bend a ball of amberline, then a small rope, and lastly the hawser, as occasion may require.
Of course if it is fine weather when you pick up a disabled vessel, out boat at once and effect communication, but in bad weather nothing is so valuable to effect communication without risk to life as a common ship's rocket.
The writer was once broken down in the North Sea, during the prevalence of a heavy N.E. gale, and although the towing hawsers carried away six times, communication was easily effected each time the hawsers parted by the use of the ship's rockets.
Before the wind a rocket will carry a line considerably over 200 feet, and might often be the means of saving life in case of shipwreck where no rocket apparatus on shore was obtainable.
Say you observe a steamer with signals flying, "Will you take me in tow?" First of all, if the weather is bad and a heavy sea running, get ready the rocket and line. When all is ready steam your vessel close to the bow of the disabled ship, with very little way on your vessel, and fire the rocket over her amidships. Communication is now established. A large line bent on the fishing line will pull the end of a coil of ratline on board, and then a lanyard rope. If you or the other vessel have large and powerful coir hawsers, then get these fast and tow away; but if you have only an ordinary europe hawser each besides the steel ropes that every steamer is well supplied with nowadays, it is useless playing with them; for if there is any sea running, and the tow is a heavy laden ship, the ropes will break as soon as ever you commence to tow, so our advice is, do not bother with them, but act thus:— After you have got a good lanyard rope between the two vessels, get your ship into a position, head to sea — ahead of the tow — and send on board of the tow, by the lanyard rope, a strong steel hawser, then tell the tow to bend on to your steel hawser his bower cable, then heave away upon the hwaser, and get his cable on board, take it round your after bits, then back it round the midship bits and schackle its end on to the mainmast, or run your own cable aft from the windlass along the decks, and shackle the two cable ends together, either mode is a strong one; then tell the tow on NO ACCOUNT to hang you with a short cable, but to give you at least 90 or 100 fathom of cable. Once you have this well fast you will tow the heaviest ship with impunity in a very strong sea-way — in fact the cable will never become taut out of the water, for long before 80 fathoms of cable chain can become taut out of the water the tow will run ahead and slack it down.
The writer has known heavy steamers that were broken down towed by the cable chains when the largest ropes a large English ironclad had on board had all parted. Many seamen think a cable is a horrid thing to tow with, reasoning themselves, "chain has no give in it," but a long cable always form a catenary, and this would never be less in a tow than from 10 to 15 feet, consequently you may say the cable has as much give in it as is formed by the catenery; but this is actually not the case, as the tow will always range ahead (provided 90 fathoms is out) before a pure catenery is formed. Thus a cable is the very strongest thing you can tow with, and if ordinary care is used, there is little or no fear of it getting foul of your propeller.* * In any case, with a heavy tow, be sure to use strong enough gear; and it is a good thing to attach a weight to the centre of the tow line to prevent sudden tautening and possible snapping.