The aft spud pile on the starboard side had almost fallen out of the hydraulic jack and was slam-ming the hydraulic jack from beneath. By means of the hydraulic unit, the barge master retracted the locking pins and managed to align the top hole in the spud pile with the lower locking pins. This meant that he could not use the traverse to lift the spud pile any further. It was decided that further equipment was necessary to retrieve the spud pile and therefore the barge master and repairman boarded the pilot boat and went ashore.