This post is short on words but long on enthusiasm. An anonymous source sent along this fabulous foto of Bird. Bird dates from 1912, the same year as Grouper, shown at this link from April. The wheelhouse of Bird and Grouper have a similar rake. What excites me about this foto is that the forward and aft shelters seem clearly add-ons, adaptations to re-purpose the tug. Bow and stern could be covered because no line handling would happen there; on the other hand, if economic shifts dictated, Bird could stripped back to its original configuration, and

I’m told, that’s what happened in 1930, when Bird returned to towing out of Detroit. Although Carl Wayne’s database doesn’t confirm this, Bird is said to have been built in Manitowoc, WI, 62′ x 13′. Her fate . . . I haven’t found out.

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