We are on the tugboat John P. Brown of Thomas J. Brown and Sons Towing, where we see the owner and captain Jim Brown go through the procedures of the blow down and start up of her two Caterpillar 3512 engines. The procedure includes opening up the cold water pump to keep the engines cool, adding a bit of starting fluid to one of the engines, hitting the air starter for the generator, checking the oil levels on the engines, priming them, and firing them with their air starters. There is a lot of noise involved, and by the time everything is on, the noise is incredible. Afterwards, we make our way up to the stern, get a quick look at the deckhand and deckineer working on one of the lines, proceed to look into the galley momentarily, and then head up to the wheelhouse to start maneuvering out of the mooring. As a side note, the John P. Brown and her sister, the Thomas J. Brown, are two of the best kept boats I have ever been on. Everything is really clean, the equipment is kept in great operating order, and the place as a whole is run really well. Here is a little history about the boat: she was laid down in 2002 and delivered as built to Thomas J. Brown in 2003 by A&B Shipyards of Morgan City, Louisiana. She is a twin screw tug and has two Caterpillar 3512 engines for a rated 2600 horsepower with Reintjes reduction gears at a ratio of 6:1. Her overall length is 78 feet and her overall breadth is 28 feet while her hull depth is 14 feet. Her net tonnage is 114 tons. Her capacities are 30, 000 gallons of fuel oil and 500 gallons of lube oil. She is a coastwise unrestricted, registered tug and can operate in the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts. Her TS Operator Code is 313622, Vessel Coast Guard Number 1124180, Vessel Code 39916, Vessel Type 3A36. She is based in Mariners Harbor on Staten Island. As soon as we clear our moorings, we will head down Kill Van Kull and through New York Harbor to the 65th Street rail yard float bridge in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, where we will tie on to a barge loaded with freight cars and take them to Greenville Yard in New Jersey. Enjoy the sounds of the start up of the boat, as well as the sight of her. Many thanks to Jim Brown and his crew for allowing me to see their operations and go on one of their assignments. If you have any questions about the video, feel free to message me. Comments are welcome. The video was taken on September 20th, 2012.