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If you’re new to the blog, I’ve done lots of blog posts on a NYS Canals tug called Urger.
For the past 5+ years, I’ve freelanced for a great publication called ProfessionalMariner, and this month have my first cover story. I didn’t know my photo was on the cover until it came out!! You can read my Urger article here.
Another piece of Urger news I have not reported elsewhere is below. At the 2018 Waterford Tugboat Roundup, the 1901 built tug was voted “People’s Choice Favorite Tugboat,” winner of a dark horse write in campaign! Below is the trophy. Too bad the trophy has no boat to display it in for the public to see.
Now for big news on the political though primarily ceremonial end of things, Assembly member John McDonald III, District 108, has sponsored a bill to designate Urger as “official tugboat of the State of New York. Read it here.
You can leave a note of thanks and support for Assembly member McDonald here. If you vote in NYS and want to leave a note for your own rep to encourage him or her to join with McDonald in supporting this bill, you can start the connection here.
You can also write the Preservation League of New York and encourage them to continue their efforts to save this boat as a moving, floating ambassador from our state’s history. Click here for more on their efforts.
And here’s yet another idea . . . a 1/12 expired Urger fundraiser calendar.
And finally, consider attending the Canal Society of New York Winter Symposium in Rochester NY on March 2. I’ll be there. Urger will surely come up.
And SCOW (State Council on Waterways) . . . too bad you’ve dissolved! There’s a reference of their Urger role at the end of this post.
Here are previous posts in this series. Other titles with the word hulls can be found here.
I’ve taken all these photos since the start of 2019. The one below is a leap forward: that’s my first view of the 1912 hull of the oft-mentioned tug I know as Grouper. This might be the year of destiny for this 107-year-old boat, although I’ve thought that many times before. If plans are to emerge from the foundry of all possibilities, this is the time to forge them.
A decade and a half younger at 90 years young, Kentucky illustrates the draft on these tugs.
Tender #1 will also be 90 years in service this year.
Fairchild is the youngster in this set . . . launched in 1953 at Roamer Boat in Holland. MI
And finally, I don’t believe this is the 1938 Kam. But what boat is this? And why are those square openings in the hull just above the waterline? And is this the Purvis scrapyard?
All photos by Will Van Dorp, in Lyons NY and the Soo.
Here are previous installments.
Let’s start with a shot from Oswego. To me, it captures the magic of the Canal in that city and the stately buildings that surround it. The photo is by Jennifer Mays, who calls it “Old man Winter is on his way #headedsouth #oswegocanal. It shows research vessel DelMor (ex-Kaho) upbound in the Oswego Canal between lacks E-8 and E-7. DelMor is in the “canalized” portion of the Oswego River; the wild portion of the river–divided by the ruins of central dock–distinguishes itself by its obvious current. The yellow building farthest left is the 1913 Pontiac Hotel. For more sights along the Oswego Canal, click here. Pontiac, the Odawa leader of his confederacy post-French & Indian War, signed a peace treaty in Oswego in July 1766.
The next two photos come from Patrick Gallagher. The shots taken from the East River show the Brooklyn Bridge and Clipper City beyond that. The colors are the magic of sunset as recorded by a smartphone camera.
Clipper City is a 158′ replica of a Great Lakes schooner built in Manitowoc in 1854. The image below comes from the must-have book The Freighters of Manitowoc by Tom Wenstadt.
And last but certainly not least, Paul Strubeck got a close-up photo of a newcomer in the sixth boro, a floating electronic billboard created by Ballyhoo Media. A floating billboard . . . would that be a bill boat?
Matt OHara caught the billboat departing Morris Canal, leaving the NJCRR terminal to starboard. If you do FB, you can see a sped-up version of it being built here. Since that shipyard is upriver, it must have escaped detection by river watchers upstream. Glenn?
When I saw the billboat Sunday, the image/advert changed every few seconds. The vessel size is estimated at 72′ . . . with 65′ screens. What’s next . . . a billboat that carries sports events, political debates, feature films, documentaries about the harbor? What else?
Many thanks to Jennifer, Patrick, Matt, and Paul for use of these photos.
Meanwhile, I’m waiting for a sunny day and for a certain pink-hulled ship called ONE Stork to either arrive or depart in bright daylight. She arrived in the sixth boro and departed again, twice . . . in the dark hours.
Here’s an expanded view of a photo from yesterday’s post here. What you see in the distance is bridge inspection unit, 2018.
The small tug is Seaway Maid, and it’s hard to believe I’m posting a photo of it today for only the first time. Last year this bridge inspection unit was moved through the Erie Canal by Arnold D. Actually, Seaway Maid used to be Lil Joe. Here is a complete page of Seaway Marine Group equipment.
Once the tugs had full facilities and transportation to and from the job site was arranged network-wide, but this is a new era.
The primer painted barge, here Fort Plain, has floated around the NYS Canals for a long time. Note the rivets?
Judging by the dimensions of the barge, it was once Dipper Dredge #1 aka Fort Plain a by the NYS Barge Canal. The dredge was acquired by the state in 1931. As acquired, she was Derrick Boat #10, shown below 95 years ago!
I’m wondering what tug that was moving the derrick boat around. Any help?
All photos by Jake Van Reenen and the archives.
And another reminder . . . the NYS Canal Conference is happening on Staten Island next week. I will show Graves of Arthur Kill and speak on a panel about the hidden places of the sixth born this coming Monday and Tuesday.
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