Bits & Cleats

towing bit
A huge towing bit in use on a turn-of-the-century tugboat. Notice the smaller deck cleat and the steam-powered capstan in the foreground.
towing bit
The bow towing bit in front of the wheelhouse on a more modern tugboat - the G.A. Venturo.
towing bit
Towing bit on the Ingrid Ann
towing bit
A large towing bit, fallen over in the sand on the Riggy wreck.
towing bit
A similar but even bigger towing bit upended on the "Middle barge". Such an artifact is a sure sign of a schooner barge wreck.
towing bit
The two tops of the towing bit are evident in the bow of this schooner barge. A similar arrangement would be found in the stern. On barges, the bits were mounted lengthwise, whereas on the tugboat above it appears to be mounted transversely.
towing bit
An enormous iron mooring bit on the Oregon.
towing bit
Cast-iron mooring bit recovered from the Delaware using 500-pound lift bags. The casting proved to be hollow, and not as heavy as you might think, perhaps 250 pounds. The same article would be called a bollard if installed on land.
towing bit
... with a lot of cleaning-up and anti-corrosion paint ...

Almost all diving activities, whether in the tropics or in colder waters, will require some sort of exposure suit. For local conditions, this means either a full heavy wetsuit or a drysuit. For the tropics, there are thinner wetsuits and fabric skins, but these are never warm enough for use around here. Water temperatures in the north Atlantic vary from just above freezing at depth during the coldest part of the year to the mid-seventies at the surface during the warmest. Typically, you can expect high-fifties to low-sixties at depth even over the summer.

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