Really Random Tugs 40

Remember the December 2016 saga involving

Colleen McAllister and Katie G. McAllister?  Note the blackout painting where the stack rings once were?  Thanks to Krystal Kauffman, here’s

an update from Muskegon.

The photo below comes from Jake Van Reenen as they were departing Frink Park in Clayton near the 1000 Islands.  It’s a moody photo.  Ontario–ex-Jeffrey K McAllister— and Erie–ex-Missy McAllister— traveled from the East Coast, with a stop in Halifax, and

were in Cleveland earlier this year.  If that is Erie, along Ontario‘s starboard side, she’s already received some paint.  South Carolina, maybe scrapped by now, is a product of Manitowoc 1925.

Maine, a product of Cleveland, dates from 1921.

Towmaster is a 1952 product of Bushey, currently shown here in New London.

Ira S. Bushey also produced Thameship, a 1940 vessel, two hulls later than Chancellor.

Thanks to Krystal Kauffman for use of the first three photos, hats off to Jake Van Reenen, and the others by Will Van Dorp.

If you “do” FB, Krystal has a FB page called My Michigan By Krystal. 

 

Really Random Tugs 39

Here’s a new look in ship-assist boats.  Can you tell what else is unconventional?

More on the design later in the post.

This is a classic design in freshwater tugs.  And this particular boat you’ve seen in a number of posts on this blog in 2016, if you’re a faithful reader.  It’s in these.

I’ve never seen Grouper‘s hull out of the water–and I hope to some day–but I’m imagining it’s fairly similar.

It’s GL tug Nebraska, 1929 launched, still working in Toledo, and in the yard only for preventative maintenance.   Over in the distance, that’s Maine, nearing the century mark and likely to be scrapped soon. Here’s an entire page with links devoted to GL tugs ….

You’ve seen this design before:  Cheraw is a YTB of the vintage of tugs like the sixth boro’s Ellen McAllister, but in the livery of the USACE.  I don’t know if USACE operates any other ex-YTBs among their very large fleet.

And in closing this post, here’s Seahound, 1941 built in the US and since 1957 working in Canada.  Since these shots show her at a dock in Windsor and pushing a barge marked . .  .

ferry service, I’m left wondering if Seahound shuttles vehicles between here and Detroit.  Anyone help?  And I know better than to take any names literally, but given her location, she might better be called Straithound?

So to get back to the top two photos . . . that’s Cleveland, the prototype for a new series of  harbor assist tugs built in Cleveland using a Damen design.  And what you may have noticed is the absence of a stack.  Engines exhaust through the stern.  Much more in this article from Professional Mariner here.   Here’s more from the Damen site.  Here are other links showing the environment where GL tugs operate while assisting cargo vessels in Cleveland.

All photos, sentiments, and any inadvertent errors by Will Van Dorp, who’s grateful to Great Lakes Shipyard for the tour.

 

North Woods Alligator Paleontology

Two years ago, I learned about these tugs while north of the border here.   Many thanks to Paul Fehling for today’s fotos of alligator tug remains.  He took the fotos while canoeing recently in western Maine.    My reference book called Alligators of the North makes me believe these could be this could be what’s left of a 1923 warping tug called Alligator shipped from Simcoe Ontario to Portland Maine.

These ruins raise questions like . . .  are there fotos of Alligator intact and

how did it ship from Lake Erie to here?

When was it last operational?

It lies downstream from Umbagog Lake near the New Hampshire/Maine border, not far from the town of Errol, where I haven’t been in over 20 years.

Many thanks to Paul Fehling.

For some coastal Maine delights, click here for Sally W reports from Camden.