Canal Tug Project B

Thomas A. Feeney tows an unidentified barge, which appears to be wood.

A closeup of the same photo shows the tug is clearly Thomas A. Feeney, the founder of the shipyard that built wooden barges.  Any idea where  Thomas A. Feeney may have been built?  Her fate?  Openings can be seen at the top of the wheelhouse as well.

K. Whittelsey, was built in 1930, scrapped in 2008, and of course there were a lot of stories found in legal decisions–and photos— in between.

Here she transits westbound at lock E-8.  She spent some of her working years as a OTCo boat, a sad few years sunk in Gowanus Canal.

Tug Seneca pushing tank barge Atlantic.  Any ideas on which Seneca this was?  Note the “Observe Safe Boating Week”  banner and the laundry hanging below along the port side.  The gentleman standing on the gate almost appears to be holding a cell phone to his left ear.

This would be the 1907 Eileen McAllister.

Morania No. 9 was built at Matton Shipyard in 1951

 and christened Edward Matton.  Was that upper house removed?

 

I’m left to wonder about the conversation between the formally dressed man-in-black on shore and crewm,an on the boat.  But more important, if this is also No. 9, what happened to then portholes in the wheelhouse?

In 2000, she was reefed off Manasquan River as Patrick J. McHugh as part of the Axel Carlson Artificial Reef.

As I stated yesterday, I have hundreds of these images for not only tugboats but also canal motor ships. Besides these, I’m told the Canal Society has thousands more negatives in storage, yet to be scanned or even inventoried. 

I’m posting these in small batches to elicit what memories and associations are out there.   Although I also post on Facebook to widen the cast, please comment here rather than on FB so that your comments remain with the post, not lost in the FB feed and flow.

As a way to begin working through the cache, I have jumped into this without a thorough plan;  more Conners and Blue Line and Feeney images will follow.  Using the tags, you can link to what’s been done in the past by clicking on a given tag [but maybe you already know that.]

 

Retro Sixth Boro 10

In only ten years, a lot of changes have happened in the sixth boro.  I wish I’d started this blog 30 years ago to document even more, but 1988 predated blogs, the internet, and digital photography.  Wow . . . how did people relate back then?

Joking aside, let’s see some that have moved on.  On January 11, 2009 Kristin Poling, the 1934 tanker, still operated.

January 12.  Sun Right, built 1993 and already dead, moved westbound in the KVK escorted by Eileen McAllister.  What’s remarkable to me is how large the tug looks in compared to the ship in contrast to tugs today looking miniature on the stern of a ULCV.

Five minutes later . . . Odin.  Indeed I was smitten by this unusual vessel, which has since moved to the South and lost her ability to rise up as if on hind legs.  I’ve no sense of what it was like to work on her.

January 15.  Never did I imagine then that this Dean Reinauer would be replaced by this Dean.

January 18  The boro’s big story of January 2009, of course, was the plane crash in the Hudson.  Here the efforts to lift the USAir Flight 1549 out of the water have just begun.  Thomas stands by Weeks 533.

January 29  NYC DEP’s Red Hook had just arrived in the harbor, and it seemed she was escorted everywhere by James Turecamo. Sine then, NYC DEP has added a  whole new generation of sludge tankers aka honey boats.

January 31  Taurus has become Joker, another intriguingly named tugboat operated not in NYC but Philadelphia area by Hays Tug and Launch, with fleet mate names like Purple Hays, High Roller, Grape Ape, and more.

Let’s leave it there.  Happy new year’s greetings still ring in my ears, leaving me with an ongoing inexplicable smile and desire to treat all with respect.  Go out of your way to smile at someone today.

All photos by Will Van Dorp, whose smile gets hidden by a respirator whenever he goes into the archives on Tugster Tower.

 

GHP&W 23: Elizabeth River b

Let’s go farther south–i.e., up the Elizabeth. Covered barge . . .

pushed by Gram-Me.  Coal?

Capt. Woody and Alexis of w3marine have the best logo.  See it better here. Fleetmate Ocean Endeavor was in yesterday’s post.

Lorette is one of two Norfolk tugs that used to be Moran boats.

As you can see by the livery, Ellie J is also a Norfolk tug, but although

similar, Stevens Towing’s Island Express is not.

Here’s a small portion of McAllister Virginia‘s fleet:  Nancy and Eileen.  The last time I saw Eileen she was returning a Staten Island ferry post rehab.

Vulcan construction has its logo on a number of tugs here, including Arapaho,

Aries,

Capt. Ron L, and

VMC Chattanooga.

Alexander Duff is a Vane tug.

Kodiak, here I think leaving the soybean depot– used to be Vane’s Capt. Russi.

Kodiak has been in the sixth boro on a few occasions.  Here’s more of her current fleet:  Maverick, ?Southern Star?, and Challenger.

Hoss, like the boats immediately above is also an Intracoastal Marine boat. Hoss is a close relative via Wiley Manufacturing of the sixth boro’s Patricia.   Sun Merchant, which I saw here in Savannah, is a Vane boat.

Corman Marine’s Captain Mac is yet another tugboat in the Elizabeth owned by a construction company.

Camie and Cajun look alike but may be owned by Robbins Maritime and Bay Transportation, respectively.

Three Sisters seems to be owned by a family-oriented company called Smith Brothers.

Elizabeth Ann, operated by Atlantic Gulf Towing, used to be known as El Hippo Grande, a truly satisfactory name for a workboat.

And finally, we seem to have two Skanska-owned boats, Ranger and

Cap’n Ed.

All photos here by Will Van Dorp, who imagined there’d be only about 10 photos in this post about a short section of the waterway in the Norfolk/Portsmouth VA area.  For the entirely delightful travel through the area, I am very grateful to the USMMA Sailing Foundation.

A request, though.   Over by the Norfolk Dredging yard, I saw their small tug Palmyra through the trees and could not get a good shot.  Has anyone taken one over the years?  If so, could you share it on this blog?  Send me an email, please.

Finally, some of you got an earlier version of this last night when I pushed the wrong button.  Sorry about that.  I could give other reasons for that error, but it was a slip and I had not intended you to think I had started using placeholder gibberish as captions.

Cheers.

 

Errant Ferry 2

Here was the first in this series.  I’d also thought of this as prodigal ferry.  Strangely enough, the Staten Island ferries travel all the way to Colonna Shipyard in Norfolk for maintenance.

Molinari returns!

 

Towed by Eileen McAllister, Molinari returned this morning.  Note the twin lights near Sandy Hook in the background.

Standing by here, it’s Charles D. McAllister.

I’d heard once that a wooden “dam” was built on the bow of the ferry to keep water from coursing through during these open-sea transits, but that’s not the case here.  Notice the missing lifeboat?

Once inside the Narrows, Charles D gets a line on the stern.

I’m told Newhouse will be next to visit Colonna.  Does anyone know if there’s a “riding crew” on the ferry for these transits?

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

Random Tugs 142

Let’s start with two from New York Media Boat.  Can you identify this vessel?

It’s Jay Michael, on a foggy morning last week.  She’s headed to the dredge over by the passenger terminal.

Eileen McAllister last appeared in this blog –I think–over six years ago here.

Here’s Laura K. Moran doing what she does.  Anyone have an ETA of the next Moran assist tug arrival?

Ocean Tower has been towing and towering elsewhere these past few years.

Here’s Caitlin Ann, a new entry in the containerized garbage hauling?

Caitlin Ann first appeared here nearly seven years ago as Vivian L. Roehrig.

And closing today’s post, Evening Star.

The first two photos by Bjoern Kils.  All others by Will Van Dorp.

 

Migratory Tugs

Moving fuel, Reinauer barge on McAllister hip, on a gray solstice afternoon.

 

Ever notice the masthead light banner midships high on a barge?

 

 

and chain towing bridle dragging through the water ready to be snagged when needed?

 

 

I’m surprised to learn this tug, Michaela McAllister, one I don’t recall having seen before, has homeport of Charleston. Will this crew spend solstice plus other holidays at sea?

Photos, WVD.

Winter Solstice 2

Blogging–you know this–means maintaining a log, with all the benefits. Here‘s what I logged a year ago.

 

The solstice this year happens 12/22 at 1:08 am EST (6:08 UT). For this post, I wanted only fotos I took on the 12/21. Above a very crowded Arthur Kill: (foreground left to right) Thomas D. Witte, APL Virginia, Atlantic Ocean, Turkon’s Dilara Kilkavan, and a tiny work boat.

 

And here’s more: aft of APL Virginia lies APL President Polk, Ellen McAllister at bow and Eileen McAllister abeam. And you thought the highways were jammed. And I wonder whether these containers hold spring fashions and summer clothes.

It’s 4 pm here, already dark at nine hours before the solstice; 182 days from now, come summer solstice, folks will lie still sunning themselves. Peace on earth, calm at sea, and quiet at anchorage . . . like the crew on this Reinauer tug and barge.

Only 91 short but lengthening days til spring!!!

Photos, WVD.