What to Pack for a Hitch: The Deckhand Packing List
Pack one soft duffel, not a hard suitcase. Locker space aboard is small, and you may carry that bag across a barge or hand it over from a skiff. Bring broken-in steel-toes, rain gear top and bottom, twice the socks you think you need, and your TWIC card in your wallet. The rest of this towboat packing list is about staying dry, sleeping in daylight, and not getting sent home over something in your bag.
From Capt. Alan, Master of Towing, 18 years on the river. Before you pack, ask on the hiring call what the company issues. Bigger outfits often hand out the life jacket, hard hat and some gear; smaller ones issue less.
Papers and money
- TWIC card. Keep it in your wallet, not your rain gear pocket. You need it to walk a secured dock or terminal without an escort. Still waiting on it? Tell the company before you travel. (TWIC guide)
- Driver's license, plus whatever payroll asked for: usually a Social Security card or passport, and bank info for direct deposit.
- Your MMC if you have one, and a folder for sea service letters. Start that folder on hitch one.
- Some cash for the trip to the crew change.
Boots, rain gear and work clothes
- Steel-toe work boots, broken in before the hitch. New boots on a 28-day hitch is a mistake you make once.
- Steel-toe rubber boots for rain and wash-down. Tank boats may want chemical-resistant ones, so ask.
- Rain gear, top and bottom.
- 3 to 4 pairs of work gloves. Wire eats them.
- Work clothes for the hitch. If the boat has a washer and dryer (ask on the call), you can pack a week's worth instead of a month's.
- A hoodie, because the AC inside runs cold, and a warm jacket from fall through spring.
- Twice the socks you think you need.
Sleep and the bunk room
Half your sleep happens in daylight, and you'll probably share a room with someone on the opposite watch. Pack for that.
- Earplugs and a sleep mask.
- Your own sheets if you like. Most boats have them, but plenty of hands bring their own.
- Shower shoes, a towel and your toiletries.
Medicine and personal stuff
- Prescriptions for the whole hitch plus a week, in the original bottles. Crew changes slip, and a lock delay can push yours by a day.
- Phone, charger and a backup charger. Signal and Wi-Fi vary by boat and stretch of river, so warn your family.
- A fixed-blade knife if you carry one, packed in checked luggage if you fly. Never carry-on.
What should you leave home?
Alcohol, firearms, and anything you wouldn't want found in a drug test. Anything your company's policy bans, which means reading that policy before you pack, not after you're aboard. On tank barges your phone and lighter stay in the house, so don't plan on having either out on deck.
Leave the hard-shell suitcase too. And skip the big stack of extra clothes: overpacking and then having nowhere to stow it is a classic rookie mistake.
Does the packing list change by season or boat?
It does. Summer on a steel deck in Louisiana and winter on the upper rivers are different jobs, so pack for the water you're headed to. Ask the company where you're catching the boat and where it's going. Line-haul boats that run long stretches need more of everything; a harbor job where you go home daily needs a lunch bag and your boots. The towboat jobs by river page gives a feel for each waterway.
Quick checklist
| Item | Got it? |
|---|---|
| TWIC card, driver's license, payroll papers | ☐ |
| Steel-toe work boots (broken in) + steel-toe rubber boots | ☐ |
| Rain gear, top and bottom | ☐ |
| 3–4 pairs of work gloves | ☐ |
| Work clothes, hoodie, warm jacket in season | ☐ |
| Twice the socks you think you need | ☐ |
| Earplugs, sleep mask, shower shoes, towel, toiletries | ☐ |
| Prescriptions for the hitch + one week, original bottles | ☐ |
| Phone, charger, backup charger | ☐ |
| Company policy read before packing | ☐ |
Still waiting on that first call? Start with deckhand jobs with no experience, and read your first hitch: what nobody tells you for the crew change, the watch and the deck work.
Bag packed, no boat yet?
One free application, read by a working captain, puts you in front of inland companies hiring deckhands, green hands included. No fees, no recruiters.
Start my application →Packing questions, answered straight
Do I need to bring my own life jacket?
Usually not; most companies issue one. Ask on the hiring call what they provide, hard hat included, and don't assume.
Do towboats provide food?
Yes, meals aboard are covered. On boats without a cook the crew cooks for itself, so be ready to pitch in.
How big a bag can I bring?
Small enough to carry across a barge with one hand and fit in a small locker. One soft duffel is the standard.