This fine piece of equipment is used to guard the sides of the boat from what ever might scratch them, in the case of this photograph, the lock walls. During my month working on the Columbia and Snake Rivers, our frequent use of the locks enabled us to master certain skills that we had a keen appreciation for, namely tossing ropes and tying up fenders with finesse, style, and above all, a collected coolness that would make any onlooker drop their jaw in wonder. It was our goal at any given moment to be the best rope handling crew on the Columbia River. And I feel pretty sure that we were. We had our shares of trials, and mishaps, and man overboard drills simulated by fenders that we’d dropped in the water, but these are the things that legends are made of.
