When you are aiming to tow something, whether big or small, it is best to choose a good position depending on the target's center of mass. While you can still tow something without good positioning, it will not be as efficient in terms of maximum speed and smoothness of travel. It will also impact the creation of the scaffolding that will form the hinge of your Articulated Tug (more on that later).

Use your ship's maneuvering capabilities to position your ship about 10-20 meters from the target's hull, making sure not to make contact with the target or you'll have to reposition again. The reasoning for the space will become apparent in the following sections.

The creation of the hinge is a necessary step for you to be able to tow the target derelict.



For this to be possible you need to send one, only one and not more for one is all is needed, crew member to the derelict. Once the crew member has taken control of the derelict it is time to build the hinge. All you need to do is build ship structural parts attached to the target with a gap in the middle.





Then you build the other part of the hinge on your Articulated Tug.






You can see in this example the effect of a very slight misalignment with the appearance of the Construction Blocked message. Which means that we should switch back to the target and make some adjustments.



By widening the gap by a meter on each side we now have enough room to build. This is why it is advisable to have a 10-20 meter separation between your ship and the target, so that you have space to work with without needing to reposition your ship every time.






When finalizing the the hinge from the tug's side, please be mindful of how wide the gap is versus how wide your pivot will be. It must be small enough that there is some leeway to either side while large enough that it will not slip through the gap when turning.

Once you have finished your construction of the hinge it is time to recall the crew member you sent over to the derelict. Please be considerate and wait for them to return to the tug properly before firing up your engines.