Back last November, I devoted a whole month to ports and harbors. As I get new material, I’ll continue that series. Here Boston’s latest fireboat passes in front of Logan’s control tower.
Here’s her namesake.
Massport has its own fireboat, American United. Its predecessor–Howard W. Fitzpatrick— was the subject of several tugster posts as it made its way up to Lake Huron to become a dive boat.
Claire looks like she was based on a hydrofoil design, but I can’t find any evidence to support that.
From my vantage point, I could tell the controls were right up in the bow. I’d love to get a tour of her wheelhouse.
This Nantucket aka LV-112 moved from Oyster Bay to Boston six years ago, a transit covered by tugster here. This Nantucket is not to be confused with WLV-612, which frequently appears in the sixth boro.
Angus . . . good to meet you. Somehow I expected you to look like Brangus.
Can anyone fill in some info on the history of King Triton? Is it a modified former government vessel? In the background are the digesters on Deer Island.
I believe that’s Ocean King, whom I saw in the sixth boro back in 2010.
Here, identification thanks to Paul Strubeck are the 1958 Nancy (red), the 1954 Brandywine (green) , and an unnamed Army tug. And over on the far left side of the pier, it’s
the 1940 Brooklyn-built Gaspee.
Over on the fish side of the harbor, here’s David Tonnesen’s 45′ stainless steel sculpture called Cod. Wind spins the discs on its back, and windspeed determines the color of the eye, s0 it’s a wind speed indicator.
Along both sides of Boston’s Fish Pier,
boats offload their catch.
More from the port of Boston tomorrow.
All photos by Will Van Dorp.
tugster: a waterblog 
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March 22, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Dan
Answers:
1) The Claire, formerly the Gracious Lady is a regular planing hull, three engine ferry. She was designed by an aircraft engineer. The pilot house is a coffin, barely any room to move around inside. Her nickname when she was the Gracious Lady was the Vicious Bitch.
2) King Triton was a former USCG small inland buoytender that was bought by the City Of Boston and used by the Harbormaster to service the city mooring fields. It was called the “Probably Cause” until the mooring field was turned over to a private club and the boat was sold to Triton Diving, and is used as a commercial dive boat/workshop.
3) That is the Ocean King
4) The blue tug ahead of the Nancy and Brandywine is the Nauset, which I believe was a government boat, then owned by McDevitt Marine and then bought and turned into a liveaboard. I believe it’s for sale.
Any other questions please shoot me an email!
March 22, 2016 at 2:21 pm
tugster
Dan– Thanks much. For anyone who’s interested, here’s the info on Nauset. http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1947/Nauset-tug-2614144/Boston/MA/United-States#.VvGY5VJb_8s
March 23, 2016 at 1:28 pm
tugster
And from William Lafferty, more on Nauset: “The government tug you showed yesterday is the former ST 871, built at Kewaunee, Wisconsin, for the Army Transportation Service, one of six the yard built that year. In 1948 it was transferred to the Corps of Engineers and took the name Nauset and worked the Cape Cod area. Sold out of service in 1985, it became Commodore and again Nauset for Crosby at Boston. Sold south to Florida, it operated out of Miami and was later a training vessel for the Chapman School of Seamanship at Stuart. In 1993 it came back north for Maritow at New Bedford and was dropped from documentation in 2011 but had been converted to a live-aboard about a decade earlier, sitting mostly at East Boston, I think, owned by a pizzeria owner in Cambridge.”
Thx much, Bill.
March 23, 2016 at 9:46 pm
tugster
from MJL: “King Triton likely used to be USCGC Chokeberry (WLI-65304):
http://www.wikiwand.com/en/List_of_United_States_Coast_Guard_cutters#/65.27_Inland_buoy_tender_.28WLI.29 ” Thx MJL Here’s more: http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Chokeberry1946.asp
March 24, 2016 at 9:56 am
paulb
When new, the Gracious Lady was gas turbine powered, which was a big talking point, as it was once the fastest of the commuter boats that ran from Hingham (a southern suburb, where I used to keep my boat when I was a lobsterman) to Boston. Many were the buoys that I lost from those damn boats in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
April 24, 2017 at 3:06 pm
skimosue
The unnamed army tug is Nauset. Reconditioned as a live aboard in the late 1980’s.
April 24, 2017 at 3:31 pm
skimosue
Sorry about that after screwing around with login I noticed the history of Nauset published here. Let my correct what’s here. Sometime after military service it became the Corps of Engineers tug on the Cape Cod Canal. They donated it to Mass Maritme who sold it to Chet Crosby. I bought it from him in the late 1980’s and spent $200k converting it to a liveaboard. In 1993??? I donated it to Chapman School in Stuart FL who leased it to a guy from New Bedford. The next owners as far as I know we’re a couple who ran a pizza shop in Somerville?????. They moved it to East Boston and opened a restaurant in the marina. After that I don’t no the history other the fact it’s for sale for $25k now
April 24, 2017 at 3:46 pm
tugster
Thx for reading the blog and commenting and updating. Do you know of an online ad with contact info for a potential buyer?
April 24, 2017 at 4:06 pm
skimosue
The online listing is from Rudders and Mooring’s in Bristol RI. http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/pl_boat_detail.jsp?&units=Feet&id=2614144&lang=en&slim=broker&&hosturl=ruddersandmoorings&&ywo=ruddersandmoorings&
March 14, 2019 at 11:05 am
daniel j joyal
Does anyone have any additional info on the gaspee shown in the pics?