Thanks to Isaac Pennock, who took this photo on the hard in Muskegon MI. The name Joel B and the port of registry New York is recognizable in the metal.
Does anyone remember Joel B in NY?
She’s not large, 30- to 40′ and a beam of less than 15′, wide load sign notwithstanding. Of course a 15′ load on a road trailer is wide. The 1973 record of merchant ships show a tugboat by this name in 1973 up by North Arlington NJ, up by Lake Hopatcong. Might this be it? How long has she been in the Great Lakes?
All photos, Isaac. Thanks.
tugster: a waterblog 
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January 30, 2021 at 3:19 pm
m
found from https://cgmix.uscg.mil/PSIX/PSIXSearch.aspx that a tug joel b was built in 1962 is 30 ft long no beam listed laid up since 2014
January 30, 2021 at 3:24 pm
tugster
Thx much, m
January 30, 2021 at 3:26 pm
m
checking the other record lists beam as 8.3 ft depth as 3.9 ft
January 31, 2021 at 2:29 pm
William Lafferty
Joel B. was built at North Arlington, New Jersey, in 1962 by and for Edward Atmanchuk of that place. originally 29.3 x 8.3 x 3.9; 8 gt, 5 nt; 150-bhp. Atmanchuk also owned the old wood tugs T. J. Sheridan and Eugenie Spofford and a number of other vessels over the years. He was a boat builder who had a yard on River Road at North Arlington and died in 1996, so maybe that’s about the time the Joel B. migrated west.
January 31, 2021 at 8:23 pm
tugster
William– Thx for that info. From FB, here’s Eugenie Spofford: https://www.facebook.com/eriecanalmuseum/posts/from-our-collection-a-fabulous-undated-photo-of-three-docked-tugboats-the-name-o/10155731015070458/ And here’s the former T. J. Sheridan: http://www.tugboatinformation.com/tug.cfm?id=2536