Harbolt, like all riverboat captains, knows the river well. He doesn't say a word, just turns and taps his temple, then smiles knowingly. River people learn to read the river and watch for its peculiarities. Harbolt keeps the quarter-mile of moving coal in the river's channel and out of trouble. He instinctively knows where the channel is and where the mud bars are.
Empty barges present their own problems.
Wind can push the empty barges, making it difficult to control the tow. Harbolt has been in the wheelhouse since 1983. The wheelhouse has the two radar displays, radios and a computer system with an uplink to a satellite that gives Ohio River Co.'s main dispatch center in Cincinnati a constant update on where all of its tows are on the rivers. The computer display also lists other river traffic and where the other tows are in relation to the Orco. As the tow slowly makes its way around a bend in the river, Harbolt looks at the radar display, then quickly turns on the search light, directing the powerful beam of light in front of the head of the tow.