Sprig, you're saying that you got off of the boat with it still pushing and ran across a bundle of logs in the water to unband them? That sounds dangerous as hell! Was that the correct procedure?
Yes, that is the procedure and I'll try and explain a bit better.
The lift system into the mill is called a jack-ladder, not many around now and the one where I worked was eventually replaced by a bundle lift (Peco I believe they're called), the straps were cut on the lift itself, then the whole schmear goes up onto a landing deck with moving chains to be untangled by a Prentice grapple and logs are fed one-by-one from there.
On the old bucket ladder there is a 70ft bridge (5ft walkway) with controls for the lift and a guy or two stands there and feeds the logs with pikepoles, low tide you are almost on top of 'em, high tide around 15-20ft. This is called 'the slip'. The logs are lined up underneath by the boat (idealy) untangled by then and the line is 'gently' pushed in. With the boat running (trust me you do not take it out of gear if you leave it or it'll leave you, swimming, not fun), I'd hop out and run across the logs and grab the 'holder', a hand cranked drum winch with about 100' of rope and a 50lb boom chain, then run it back to the boat and plop it in, the guys on the slip can then pull the line of logs in with the winch while the boatman goes for another bundle.
The boatman breaks a bundle out of the boom then you line it up sideways to the slip. With everything still moving towards the line of logs you hop onto the bundles and break the straps (one at a time, there are usuall 2-3) and hang them on the boat (everything still moving towards the slip), using an axe for chokers to break the dogs, or with a gas cutter if they are crimped cables.
When the last cable comes off everything moves very fast from there, the bundles begin to break up and you are running/dancing on rolling (often in different directions), emerging logs back to the boat before it gets pushed away and starts off down the briney, which can leave you stranded, swimming, or worse (then you have to use another boat to go get the one that got away), and yes, I've gone in a few times as well as done some flying leaps for the boat and ended up hanging off the side (boat still moving of course), also dropped more than a few cables and axes, and at least 3 cable-cutters (around 400$ a shot, no happiness there) over the years. The boatman wears chalked (pronounced 'corks', dunno why) boots, earmuffs&plugs, life-vest, hardhat (optional until the last year or so), and what ever clothing is need per the weather (the side-winders have a removable cab which is generally, um, removed). Believe me the danger keeps you sane but most of us were a bit nutty anyway
and few days went by without something interesting happening (read 'close calls'). The guys feeding the slip (which I also did on and off for several years) had to be on their toes all the time too as many times logs would come tumbling down the ladder, smashing the chain buckets, knocking off other logs, wiping out the bridge (at least 4 times in as many years), we had quite a collection of bent and mangled pikepoles.
Anyway, I'm blathering a bit nostalgically here. The boats are kept in gear so they don't get pushed away, there are spikes all down the bow and the winder usually sat at about 45degrees to the raft, sometimes it'd get shoved away and with the steering turned it'd (hopefully) circle around to where you could grab it again before the logs spread out too much and it was time to run for the dock or go swimming.
Most of the guys I worked with are still good mates, we were a pretty tight bunch as few others could really understand what we did out on the chuck.
I left the mill after 10 years (almost 20 years ago now, yikes) as I didn't like the jobs I was given after losing my booming ground position to a person with higher seniority and it was time for some changes in my life anyway.
That be it fer now, and as I said, I'll get some pics up of the mill when I find them.
Serge