Freshwater Tugs 11: New Beginnings

Here’s what GL tugs have looked like for a century, and many of them are still working, despite their age, as you can see here by clicking on the state names.  The tug below is Nebraska, launched in 1929.  Grouper–frequently mentioned on this blog–has the same basic design.

A new beginning took place yesterday in Toledo at the National Museum of the Great Lakes, and Paul Strubeck of Vintage Diesel Design as well as all these photos on tugster took these photos of the ceremony:  in front of the Colonel aka Schoonmaker, the 116-year-old tug Ohio was rechristened along with

the new tug Ohio. Below and to the left, the old/new Ohio (originally built as a Milwaukee fire boat) was christened with beer and the new Ohio  . . . with champagne.  Read the ToledoBlade story here.

Click here for a story on the new design, based on the Damen 1907 ICE class design.  This blog did a post on the first of this new design about two years ago here.

 

 

The new Ohio will assist ships in port of Toledo, so juxtaposition of these three vessels will be commonplace in years to come.

Many thanks to Paul for use of these photos.  And if you are ever in the Toledo area, do stop by the National Museum of the Great Lakes.