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Another TBR is in the books. Where else can you see very upclose and personal some much-loved boats. I can and might do a post on each of these boats, but for now, just a survey.
Shoofly . . . complete name is Shoofly Pie. If you want actual detail, click here and scroll; you’ll see some profile of each of these boats (and others). All I’ll say about Shoofly is that she’s a WW2 naval vessel evolved into a rat rod (We need a new term for this category.) vessel. It has also likely sailed the greatest number of places, freshwater and salt. I’ve photographed this boat before, but somehow, it’s never made it onto this blog. Some explanation follows.
I frame this as a comparison of push knees on Edna A and J. Arnold Witte.
How about this as a frame– l to r, Nathan G, Margot, Benjamin Elliot, and Edna A. — involving two-thirds of the NYS Marine Highway boats participating in the event. Then another set of NYS Marine was not present . . . working . . . .
CMT Otter . . . represented Coeymans. I learned some modification history of this boat last weekend. It was once Delta Ram and looked like this.
This vessel is the fourth in the series of Atlantic Hunter boats. I had photos of Atlantic Hunter IV (under a different name last year) but those photos like those of Shoofly . . . disappeared.
My Pal Sal is not the latest government boat purchased by NYS Canals, although you might suspect otherwise. To stray down a tangent though; Sal has a song named for her; we really need a popular ditty about canal tugboats . . . any or all of them. Lobby your favorite songwriter or channel your own inner songwriter muse.
W. O. Decker looked spectacular! Last time I saw her some details were not the same.
Joncaire is several years into her new livery; she used to be the red of NYPA Niagara River boom maintenance fleet, as seen here (scroll).
Here’s the view from the 4th Street Bridge, and
here from the 2nd Street Bridge.
All photos yesterday, WVD, who got out there before many people were crowding the bulkhead.
I missed a lot of folks who were there because I stayed in the welcome center most of the time, listening to the talks.
I first went to the Roundup in 2007. Here are some photos.
National as for sale that year. W. O. Decker is an almost-regular attendee.
Cheyenne, also a regular, was red then. Since it’s currently working out of Wisconsin, I doubt she’ll ever be back.
Here are some photos from 2007: fleetmates Margot and Benjamin Elliot.
Push-off contests are exciting: check out Gowanus Bay and Cornell.
In 2008, Frances Turecamo had not yet returned to active service, which it now has as NYS Marine highway’s Frances.
Governor Cleveland was on the wall, along with Wire and Chancellor.
In 2009, Shenandoah was there, and also for sale.
Empire was there. She’s still working out of Connecticut.
In 2010, Empire and Crow had become fleetmates in blue.
Pushboat Grand Erie was there.
Buffalo was there, but has now been sold, and will likely stay in Buffalo. Just offf her stern, note Urger. Urger has not been at the Roundup since 2016, and is currently laid up/blocked up high and dry above the Oswego River.
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All photos over the years, WVD.
2014 was the year I was working on Urger. Here she’s tied up above lock E-2 while Bejamin Elliot steams by, downbound.
Some time later we’d all steamed down to Albany, here (l to r), it’s a Lord Nelson Victory tug yacht, a tender, and C. L. Churchill, a 1964 boat built in Cohasset MA. Chuchill is the tug that serves to move the 1862 replica canal schooner Lois McClure.
The parade here is moving northbound along the Troy wall…
and here above the Federal lock bound for the left turn at Waterford . . . into the canal. The photo below is credited to Jeff Anzevino, and you’ll see your narrator standing along the portside of the wheelhouse.
In 2014, the documentary by Gary Kane and myself was screened in the Pennsy 399 barge to enthusiastic roundup attendees.
Ceres, the cargo schooner was making one of its trips from Lake Champlain to the sixth boro. Unfortunately, that endeavor has folded. As of July 2020, the plan was to convert Ceres into a tiny home. Details can be found at FB under The Vermont Sail Freight Project.
The official Sunday culmination of the Round involves prizes. Churchill and McClure were the official vessels of 2014, and the
old man of the sea award went to my former crewmate, Mike Byrnes, here being awarded by Roundup director, Tom Beardsley.
All photos, WVD.
An omen of the future . . . in 2013, Urger was laid up, sans her problematic prop shaft. Here she’s nez-a-nez with Day Peckinpaugh.
Gowanus Bay was looking good.
NYS Marine Highway was well represented,
as always. And following two of the four NYS Marine Highway boats there was Cornell, Frances and Margot‘s senior by the better part of a decade.
If you’ve never attended, trust me when I say the fireworks show is extraordinary! Here from the bulkhead a dozen or so thousand spectators
and a few on solo craft
are captivated by the show.
I can’t tell you much about Iron Chief, except that it has nice brass, a working steam engine, and was for sale in 2012. In that link, you hear it run. Of course, in the distance that’s ex-Atlantic Hunter, now Little Giant.
For me personally, 2013 was my first time to see the Blount Small Ship Adventures vessels head into a lock.
Besides tugboats, you never know what or who you might see.
it’s bowsprite of the blog and the etsy shop on an underwater mission.
Here’s the line up.
All photos, WVD.
The 2010 post had a photo from 2009, so let me start this one with one from 2010. This photo made the cover of a NYS Restoration publication devoted to boats, but I lent my copy to someone and it’s never returned. If you know the publication, please let me know.
OK, let’s see one more from 2010, taken from the same bridge, but closer to the bank and less zoomed. Lots of folks come to these Roundups, but the number of working boats that can get there is decreasing because of increasing air draft and the inflexible 112th Street bridge, which also wiped out the viability of Matton shipyard.
The Roundup always begins with a parade, and that used to be always (in my times there) led by Urger.
Cornell and spawn named Augie waited on the wall in Troy.
Buffalo is now in Buffalo, and in less good condition. Here‘s more info on her. She’s 53′ x 16’ and worked for the Barge Canal from 1916 until 1973. Originally steam, she was repowered after WW2. See her engine, a Cooper Bessemer, running here back in 2007.
Wendy B was the show stealer in 2010. She looked good and no one I spoke with knew where she’d come from. She’s a 1940-build by Russel Brothers of Owen Sound ON, originally a steam tug called Lynn B. More info is here but you have to scroll.
8th Sea is a staple of the Roundup, probably has been since the beginning. She was built in 1953 at ST 2050 by American Electric Welding. That makes her a sister to ST 2062, now in the sixth boro as Robbins Reef, seen here if you scroll. Here‘s a tug44 description of tug and captain.
Small can still be salty, especially with this innovative propulsion . . . . Little Toot.
As I said, one of the traditions of the Roundup is that Urger leads the way. Here, above the federal lock, the boats muster. And traditions are important.
The active commercial boats line up at the wall nearest the Hudson River, but when a job needs doing, they head out.
Since the Roundup happens just below lock E-2 of the Erie Canal, the thoroughfare for the Great Loop, it’s not uncommon to see some long distance boats pass by. All I know about Merluza is that it’s the Spanish word for hake.
What happened to 2011 you may ask? Irene happened and the Roundup was cancelled. We’re indebted to tug44 for documenting the damage of that hurricane in the Mohawk Valley.
All photos, unless otherwise attributed, WVD.
Back in 2010, I did four posts about the weekend, which you can see here. What I did for today’s post was look through the archives and just pick the photos that for a variety of reasons jumped out at me. A perk is each of the four posts has some video I made. One of these photos is from 2006.
Again, I’m not listing all the names, but you may know many of these. In other cases, you can just read the name. If you plug that name into the search window, you can see what other posts featured that particular vessel.
Below, here the pack that locked through the federal lock together make their way en masse toward the wall in Waterford.
You’ll see a lot of repetition here.
The photo above and most below were taken earlier than the top photo; here, Chancellor and Decker head southbound for the lock to meet others of the procession beginning in Albany.
2020 is Decker‘s 90th year.
Nope, it’s not Cheyenne. Alas, Crow became razor blades half a decade back.
Technically, not a tugboat, but Hestia is special. We may not have a functioning steam powered tug in the US, but we do have steam launches like Hestia, with very logical names.
You correctly conclude that I was quite smitten by Decker at the roundup back 10 years ago.
All photos, WVD.
And Shenandoah was not from 2010. It was 2009.
When I woke up this morning, I realized I had more Buffalo photos, and my boss (??) could be convinced to post them ASAP. All photos of this boat to be auctioned off I took in September 2012. Here she’s approaching the Troy lock, and
this is above it. Buffalo leads the pack . . . .
with a handsome complement crewing her.
All comments are always welcome, but if any of her crew wish to add anything about the project and the history of the boat, here’s space.
All photos by Will Van Dorp, who around that same time made this video and this one of the event, unfortunately NOT showing Buffalo underway. But HERE is Buffalo‘s engine running thanks to Nobby’s magic.
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