# any good resources for pusher tugs?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-resources-for-pusher-tugs/852285
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 21, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-resources-for-pusher-tugs/852285 "2020-04-21T18:56:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-resources-for-pusher-tugs/852285/1 "2020-04-21T18:56:00Z")
Lately been watching a youtube channel (TimBatSea) about a tugboat that moves barges (whether towing from the front, side, or tied into the notch at the rear). It’s got me curious about the tugs that help move the huge container and cruise ships in and out of port.
**Does anybody know of any good youtube channels or sites that talk about how that works** , what they do (e.g. pushing/pulling at different points, how they move), why they do xyz, etc.? I’ve seen plenty of videos of tugs doing that sort of work, but none with any sort of explanation of what’s going on, or why they’re doing that particular thing.
---
### Author:  [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2020, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-resources-for-pusher-tugs/852285/2 "2020-04-21T19:26:06Z")
Not a video or website but George Reid’s [_Primer Of Towing_](https://www.amazon.com/Primer-Towing-George-H-Reid/dp/0870335634) is the canonical reference for barge towing operations complete with plenty of pictures and diagrams explaining how various types of tugboats and barges work.
Stranger
---
### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-resources-for-pusher-tugs/852285/3 "2020-04-21T19:29:03Z")
I’m almost certain Modern Marvels did an episode either on tugboats or with tugboats featured heavily enough that I remember it.
---
### Author:  [@icbm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icbm)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2020, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-resources-for-pusher-tugs/852285/5 "2020-04-22T02:09:32Z")
I forget where I saw it, probably a Discovery “how things work show”, but tugboats have a cool type of propulsion system that looks like a vertical mixer that allows them to spin in place, change from forward to reverse on a dime, and do all the things that make tugboats so cool.
> **[Voith Schneider Propeller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voith_Schneider_Propeller)**
>
> The Voith Schneider Propeller (VSP) is a specialized marine propulsion system (MPS) manufactured by the Voith Group based on a cyclorotor design. It is highly maneuverable, being able to change the direction of its thrust almost instantaneously. It is widely used on tugs and ferries.
> From a circular plate, rotating around a vertical axis, a circular array of vertical blades (in the shape of hydrofoils) protrude out of the bottom of the ship. Each blade can rotate itself around a vertical axis...
---
### Author:  [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2020, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-resources-for-pusher-tugs/852285/6 "2020-04-22T04:19:24Z")
Language note: Oddly enough, the boats that push barges on inland waterways (and sometimes in quiet coastal waters) are known as _towboats_.
The boats that nudge and push oceangoing ships into wharves and docks are known as _tugboats_.
---
### Author:  [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-resources-for-pusher-tugs/852285/7 "2020-04-24T23:43:46Z")
> [@icbm](#):
>
> I forget where I saw it, probably a Discovery “how things work show”, but tugboats have a cool type of propulsion system that looks like a vertical mixer that allows them to spin in place, change from forward to reverse on a dime, and do all the things that make tugboats so cool.
>
> [Voith Schneider Propeller - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voith_Schneider_Propeller)
Not all of them, apparently. This channels regular boat has the classic propeller and rudder combo (a couple videos included footage of it up on blocks for regular maintenance).
I did do a bit of reading on that drive head, after you mentioned it, and was surprised to see one tugboat building company claiming their idea of one of those egg-beater mounts at either end of the boat was “revolutionary”. Seems pretty obvious to me that if you’ve got a drive head that can push in any direction, and maneuverability is critical, that you put them at either end of a vessels longest axis.