Thanks to Tony Acabono 31

To follow up on my “inconsistent post-entitling” comment from yesterday, this could be Tony A 31, at least, given all his previous contributions here under a variety of noms de keyboard.

For starters, here’s another closeup of Highland Eagle. Last summer the boat was contracted to survey an area near the Straits of Mackinac for a controversial tunnel project, a pipeline tunnel.  Currently it’s working for the Sunrise Wind project.

Tony also sends along the closest up photo I’ve yet seen of Kodi, at 43′ loa on the smaller size of tugs in the sixth boro, its tall upper wheelhouse notwithstanding.

Thanks, Tony.

Union Dry Dock Disunion

Click on the photo below and you’ll see where this photo of part of the hoboken riverfront looked like in 1955.

Union Dry Dock and Repair was the setting for a 1979 Blondie music video that you can watch by clicking on the photo.  Actually, a lot of 1979 Hoboken marine industry is visible on the video. The sad news is that Union Dry dock and Repair, a fixture there since 1908 is no more.  I’ve been working on (mulling over is more accurate) this post since last November, when UDD & R assets were dispersed to new owners.

Thanks to the always helpful folks at Hughes Marine, I got to see one of the floating drydocks previously over in Hoboken. Thanks, Tim.

Here’s another view of the 6 Dry Dock.

In January I spotted the same green color on a floating dry dock over in Bayonne, and then

in February I saw it in use, deballasting itself

to raise a barge.

The business had been for sale for quite some time, as evidenced by this 2012 Hudson Reporter article.  The struggle for this property is now being waged between the city of Hoboken and NYWaterways.  In fact, as I write this morning, the city of Hoboken, the state of NJ, and NJWaterways are all engaged.

I’m putting up this post now as a way to group source the story.  Any updates and past history are appreciated.   I’m happy the dry docks and former small tug Hoboken–now a Sea Wolf boat in Sea Wolf colors–have found a new life.  Here’s another shot. And here (scroll) you’ll see one of the dry docks over where it once was.

The last five photos here by Will Van Dorp.

 

Random Tugs 225

The harbor of NYC . . . the watery parts I call the sixth boro . . . is quite diverse.  Bridgebuilder 22 (2012) I caught in Erie Basin,

where I also saw Miss Aida (2002), formerly known as American Muscle.  Now that’s a name!!

Stephen B has been on the blog before, but this is the first time I had my camera with me as I passed Westchester Creek.

Treasure Coast was at Caddell Dry Dock and Repair earlier this month . . .

as were Evening Mist and Genesis Glory and 

Pearl Coast.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

Random Tugs 152

The Cornell (1950) with Clearwater (1969) on Hughes 141 photos come with thanks to Glenn Raymo.  The Hudson Valley is particularly beautiful this time of year, especially if you catch it in the right light, which of course is true everywhere.

The other tugboats and landscapes in this post are mine.  In the KVK, Sarah Ann (2003) passes RTC 135 just as the morning sun clears a bank of low-lying clouds.

An upriver-bound Navigator (1981) clears the Kills with HT 100 around the same hour.

. . . passing lighthouses,

gantry cranes, storage facilities,

 

high ground, 

 

and impossible towers.

Many thanks to Glenn for use of his photos.  I’m sure Paul Strubeck plays a role here also.  And I took the photos of Sarah Ann and Navigator.

Here and here are some previous photos of Clearwater on its winter maintenance barge.

Merrily Merry 2

OK . . . I’ll admit that I’m foolish enough to think every day is Christmas, every day in New Years,  . . . and I could go on.

So happy 18th day of Christmas 2013.   And my heart-felt thanks go out to Tim and Bill Hughes of Hughes Marine for these images.  Thanks also to John Skelson who helped reformat them for this blog.

Let’s go back to November 1997.  Tugboat Spuyten Duyvil delivered a barge carrying a Torsilieri truck carrying a Norway spruce bound for Rockefeller Center.

The tree was felled in Stony Point.  Click here for the article by James Barron detailing the tree transaction.

If that tree is 74 feet, that’s a long trailer.

You gotta love those red balls.  By the way, Hughes logo on the barge was painted out for this transit.

Here were some fotos taken in the Upper Bay.  I highly recommend getting the children’s book version of the story in part to see the artistic liberties taken in rendering both tug and truck.

Fireboat John D. McKean  does the honors.

Although I’m still working on locating more pics of this event, including Joyce Dopkeen’s shots of the offloading process, I am thrilled to share these with you here.

Again, many heartfelt thanks to Bill Hughes for sending these photos and to John Skelson for reformatting them.

I hope to have more belated “christmas” fotos soon.

Really Random Tugs 2

The “really random” posts are just that.  I believe what follows, is.

Thanks to Jeff Schurr and Dave Boone, behold Bloxom in her better days, in this case during her life as a Pennsylvania RailRoad tug.  Bloxom has been on this blog here and here and other places.  Anyone else know Bloxom PRR fotos?

Also thanks to Jeff and Dave, Ned Moran below in work mode compared with a foto of the vessel (scroll down to the last one)  I took a few months back.   I have to say there’s so little left of the vessel now that it’s hard to corroborate their being the same vessel.

Mighty Joe (ex-Maria) in the Hughes Marine portion of Erie Basin yesterday.

This is my first ever sighting of Marquette’s  Layla Renee, defying a current trend as a Gulf boat working up here.

When I last posted a foto of  a Marquette boat, I also included one of Colleen McAllister.  Yesterday she looked powerful pulling a deepladen dredge scow.

Last three fotos here taken by Will Van Dorp, last week.  The next two come from Cheryl, an important friend from way back.  Both were taken in Holland, Michigan.  First, it’s James Harris, one of 10 Army STs built in the first half of 1943 in Sturgeon Bay, WI; and

Haskal, about which I can find no info.  The design of  Haskal looks older than that of  James Harris.  Anyone help out?

Again, thanks to Cheryl, Jeff, and Dave for contributing fotos.

Unrelated:  I’ve added a new link to my “resources”   a list of all (maybe) US-flag operators of tug and tow boats.