As a kid living near Lock 28 of the then-Barge Canal, I might have seen this strange looking vessel.  If I saw it  as a 9-year-old in 1961,  a) I’ve forgotten it . . . but b) it was already 40 years at work in 1961. Day-Peckinpaugh aka Richard J. Barnes and Interway Lines 101, progenitor of a now-scrapped fleet, does present an unforgettable face.  Bart might call it ugly, but its design conform to its niche . . .  kind of like a flounder.

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Throughout the Working on Water events, which ended recently at Cohoes, NY, she was driven by John Callahan, in green shirt adjusting docklines here with the capstan.  John is a driving force behind the annual Waterford Tug Roundup, an annual event started in 1999.

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See this view from high on the stern looking forward  259′ between the stacks.  Actually, I find it’s difficult to to get a clear shot of DP because of its size.  In the distance off DP‘s port bow is tug Hackensack, her stack no longer quite as delightfully be-colored as it once was.

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Here’s the hold looking astern.  Companionways, added as part of the retrofit to transform DP‘s hold into gallery space, obviously were not in place when she worked as a bulk carrier.  With a carrying capacity of 1650 tons, she took –at least–100 tractor trailers of her era off the roadways.

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Detail of hatch cover.

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Spare prop.

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Well, DP is a big ship, and I didn’t get to see it all this year.  No matter, she is the largest exhibit in the New York State Museum . .. will be for years to come, I suppose.  Final shot below shows more audio than overall image of DP docking in Lake Champlain this past summer.

I’m playfully ending on a snarky note . . . I’m curious about the name.  What comes to mind from   ”day peck & paw…”   is how it might differ from “night peck & paw . . . .”   Is that a first and last name . . . a certain Peckinpaugh named “day” maybe short for “Davidson.”  Another option might be “day peck ‘n paw . . . yes day do!”

All fotos . . . Will Van Dorp.

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