Barge for the Shuttle's external tank

[marshcat]

It's not wooden, but it is cool:


And another:


A bunch more cool picture here (I saw the article first on Slashdot).

[Dave Davis]

And the source of one of, if not the largest salvage award in history:

http://www.safesea.com/boating_info/...Fs/margate.pdf

[Tom Robb]

If you can read that print, you're a better man than I.

[prestonbriggs]

I can read it; it's great.
It begins

'Twas a dark and very stormy night...

Later, it refers to precedent set in Rhodian law
(i.e., the Isle of Rhodes) in 900 BC, citing various Roman authors.
I'll have to print it out and study it more closely.

Preston

[prestonbriggs]

OK, the bark was being towed by tug from New Orleans to Florida.
A tropical storm approached, and the tug had problems,
losing both engines and rudders. Then the anchor dragged
and they considered cutting lose the barge (with its monstrous
windage). An oil tanker (full!) answered the distress call
and, with some difficulty, managed to get a line to the tug and pull
the whole mess to safety.

They were eventually awarded 12.5% of the value
of the shuttle's external tank, or about 5 million dollars.

Reading it through, I think they earned it.

Preston

[Vince Brennan]

Wow... like walking thru molasses!