Warning: I have no reasonable idea what bowsprite has captured here. Possibly the sight has so befuddled her that she kept these shots from me for 10 weeks. She took these on October 23, 2008. The material looks to be steel like a barge, but the shape is certainly sailing vessel. Two collars seem destined to support a—-well—-bowsprit.
The raised quarterdeck resembles something pre-20th century, and the pointed frames port and starboard could lend themselves to bulwarks if
the entire exterior were covered with wood or synthetic wood. Provenance upriver and destination we have no clue about. Wherezit taken?
It’s directly below bowsprite’s cliff dwelling. Yes, that’s the Colgate clock in Jersey City just north of the Morris Canal.
Total mystery to me: prop for a movie, retro-design cruise ship, toy for Bernie Madoff/Dennis Kozlowski & fellow white-collar corsairs party on the MV Albert B. Fall, pirate interdiction vessel to be dedicated to keeping ersatz Gucci and Rolex products off Manhattan sidewalks, released super-mothership of the Rip van Winkle’s “strangely dressed” befuddlers post-ransom payment? Bowsprite seems to have lost the temporary anxiety resulting from the sighting. Any ideas? Actually, I can’t identify the tug either.
Anyone offering info leading to the correct identification of this “spiky conundrum” will be offered the opportunity to post mystery vessel fotos of his/her own. Hey . . . it’s been over a year since I last put up a relief crew post, but the next one would be “Relief Crew 8.”
Postscript: Thanks to comments by John Brown and Jim, the mystery ship is identified here.
tugster: a waterblog 
7 comments
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January 10, 2009 at 7:50 pm
John Brown
I think this may be it…Rhode Islands Tall Ship
http://www.boatbuilding.net/article.pl?sid=08/09/18/1033206
http://www.tallshipsrhodeisland.org/
January 11, 2009 at 12:14 am
Jim
What you are seeing is the 132 foot steel hull of Rhode Island’s future Tall Ship, the Oliver Hazard Perry. When finished, she will be 207 feet which I assume is the sparred length. Mast height will be less than 130 feet to allow bridge clearance. There was a write up in the January 2009 issue of Soundings on her which is the source of these details. It is reported that, upon completion, she will be the second largest sail training ship following the USCG ship Eagle at 295 feet. The hull was purchased for $339,000 from a Canadian group located in Amherstburg, Ontario that had been intending to make a replica of the HMS Detroit. Going forward, the RI project is expected to cost $4 million (not counting the hull purchase) and take several years to complete. The tow from Ontario to RI was 892 miles but there is no mention of who did the tow. There is a rudimentary web site for the effort at http://www.tallshipsrhodeisland.org
January 11, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Anonymous
Hi tugster. Impressive and terrorific vessel. I’ve taken a look to the IMB Piracy Map 2008, but I didn’t fint it.
Well, the previous comment rassures me 🙂
January 11, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Jarrett
Whatever it is it looks like it is on its iron maiden voyage. HAHAHAHA
April 30, 2015 at 7:31 pm
bowsprite
where is the ‘like’ button on this blog? ‘LOVE’
January 24, 2009 at 4:06 am
john brown
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/us/24newport.html?_r=1
December 30, 2011 at 6:45 pm
tugboathunter
The torontonian tug M.R. Kane is doing the towing in those pictures. Actually, the hull being towed was originally constructed to be a replica of the HMS Detroit for use here on the Great Lakes, but the project was never finished. Now I know where it went!