How did dumb gate vessels work the boom gate?

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Fatboy Coxy
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How did dumb gate vessels work the boom gate?

Post by Fatboy Coxy »

Not sure who else had them, but the Royal Navy built the Moorgate class of gate vessel in the early 1930s. This was to supplement the large number of dumb barge vessels constructed in the first world war, which were later employed at boom gate vessels.

Neither had any engines, and so had to be towed to their locations. But once moored, they operated boom gates using onboard winches.

I’m sure it’s a simple thing, but it beats me how that would have worked, if they winch themselves into shore, opening a gate, how do they winch themselves back into position, without having a trailing wire to pull on, which would foul any ship passing through the gate

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A Very Dumb Fatboy Coxy
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Fatboy Coxy

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OpanaPointer
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Re: How did dumb gate vessels work the boom gate?

Post by OpanaPointer »

Never worked on them, but a thought would be to have two motorized boats, one on either side of the boom. Both locked on near the end of the boom. One would be towed along with the gate when the other pulled it close in to the shore.
Fatboy Coxy
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Re: How did dumb gate vessels work the boom gate?

Post by Fatboy Coxy »

OpanaPointer wrote: Thu Dec 30, 2021 5:56 pm Never worked on them, but a thought would be to have two motorized boats, one on either side of the boom. Both locked on near the end of the boom. One would be towed along with the gate when the other pulled it close in to the shore.
For self propelled, you could unattached a boom from an anchored buoy and tow it away, thus opening a gate, and do the reverse in closing it, but if you don't have a self propelled boat, merely one with winches, how does that work

Unless I've read this all wrong, and they didn't operate booms with dumb vessels equipped with winches?
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Fatboy Coxy

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Steve Crandell
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Re: How did dumb gate vessels work the boom gate?

Post by Steve Crandell »

It seems to me that if the barge was long enough, you orient it parallel to the channel. Attach the gate to the center of the barge with winches at each end. Then you can swing it open and shut. You would need two of them, one on each side of the channel, and obviously the channel would have to be fairly narrow, but the gate could be e bit longer than the barge that was operating it.

It does seem to me that it wouldn't take a very big boat to tow a gate open and shut, but you need a way to anchor the gate in place.
OpanaPointer
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Re: How did dumb gate vessels work the boom gate?

Post by OpanaPointer »

Systems varied widely, commands had some flexibility as to what they develop. Net tenders could be used to operate the nets as well as repairing/inspecting them.
Fatboy Coxy
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Re: How did dumb gate vessels work the boom gate?

Post by Fatboy Coxy »

A chap called Inhapi gave me a link to a superb doc that tells it all

see
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/warship ... 45022.html
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Fatboy Coxy

Currently writing https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/ ... if.521982/
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