Fish Tugs Of The Greatest Lake

Fishing Vessels of the Great Lakes

Compiled by Harvey Hadland

ACE A fish boat of unknown size, owned by William Harting and Otto Light, Leland, Mich., in 1948.

ACLIPSON A small fish boat owned by Earl Minger, Vermilion, Ohio, in 1928.

ADAMAC Size, and rig not known. Owned by Alex McDiarmid, Muskegon, in 1952.

ADELINE Owned by William Lentz, Standish, Mich. in 1931. Size of boat not known.

A. E. CLIFFORD 249688 .Built by Milwaukee Shipbuilding Co. in 1947, for Andrew Wilson, Ontonagon, Mich. Of all-steel construction, 45 ft. x 13 ft., boat was equipped with a Model D13000 Caterpillar diesel. After converting to trawling , the Wilsons sold the boat to Sivertson Fisheries, Duluth, Minn. VIEW PICTURE

AGNACE S A fish tug, about 45 ft. in length, with a fantail stern and pilot house aft, equipped with a 60-70 hp. Kahlenberg oil engine, owned by Fred Sendenberg, Beaver Island, Mich. in the early 1930s.

AGNES G. 233703 A 36 ft. x 9 ft. steel hulled fish tug built at Michigan City, IN in 1917. The vessel was first documented in 1936 and owned by Sam Grieger, St.Joseph, MI from 1936 to 1943. From 1943 to 1945 Glen Richter, South Haven, MI was the owner. John Miller, Benton Harbor, MI had the boat from 1945 to 1948. Then Claude Miller, St. Joseph, MI had ownership from 1948 until 1959, when she was abandoned.

AH WA NESHA 240064 Built at DePere, WI in 1922, the 40 ft. fan-tail vessel had various owners and many different uses before being employed as a fish tug by Holger Johnson and Otto Olsen, of Duluth and Isle Royale. In 1955 the boat was abandoned at Chippewa Harbor on Isle Royale. The disintegrating remains of the hull and some of the machinery, is still visible.

A. JEFFERY 231940 Built at Manitowoc, WI by owner Albert Jeffrey in 1933. The boat was 46 ft. in length, with a bea, of 13 ft. and equipped with a 50-60 hp Kahlenberg oil engine. In the early 1940s she was owned by Sam Johnson Fisheries, Duluth, MN. After laying abandoned for many years Lloyd Currie, Jr., Duluth, bought the boat and converted her to a yacht. The cabin was removed, the hull built up and the fantail squared off. The hull was encased with wire mesh and coated with cement. The engine was peplaced with a GM 6-71 diesel. VIEW PICTURE

ALAN L. Also built by its owner, Erwin LeBel, in the 1930s, this boat was about 34 ft. in length, and powered with a gas engine. In the mid 1940s it was lengthened to 40 ft. Used for fishing, and also charter trolling, the boat had a square stern and was of hard-chine design. While moored at the Bayfield East Dock in the fall of 1948, the boat was rammed and sunk by the W.W. HILL. Following the sinking the boat was dragged ashore and dismantled. VIEW PICTURE

ALBERT C. KALMBACH 219836 Built at Manitowoc, Wis. by Burger Boat Co., in 1919, for Albert C. Kalmbach, Sturgeon Bay, Wis. 45 ft. x 12 ft., equipped with a 50-60 h.p. Kahlenberg oil engine. Boat was later owned by Oliver Anderson, and also Arthur Pulda.

ALBERT E. BAKER 65 ft. steam powered fish tug owned by Albert E. Baker, Dunkirk, N.Y., in 1931.

ALBERT J. 236912 Built by Burger Boat Company of Milwaukee in 1937, for Ludlow White, Alpena, Mich; 50 ft. in length and 14 ft. beam, of all-steel construction, with a full-height pilot house with sleeping space for the crew.

White named the boat ALBERT J., but sold her after only three years to the Wisconsin Conservation Department (now Department of Natural Resources) who renamed her after the late Chief Conservation Warden Barney Devine. The boat was intially used for commercial fish enforcement on Lake Michigan, then in 1969 was transferred to the Bureau of Fisheries Management for use as a research vessel. In 2012, the DNR replaced the BARNEY DEVINE with a new vessel, and sold her to Halvorson Fisheries of Cornucopia, Wis.

The boat was originally equipped with a 75-90 Kahlenberg oil engine, but according to an advertisement posted online at the time of the sale, that was replaced in 1972 by a 250 hp Cummins Model NT-335M 6 cylinder turbocharged diesel engine. Other equipment listed included a a Crossley net lifter "believed to have been installed in 1937." VIEW PICTURE

ALF 212842 A 35 ft. steam powered fish tug built at Frankfort, Mich. in 1912 and owned by John Dlugi, Milwaukee, Wis., in 1938.

ALFRED S. 69 ft. steam powered fish tug owned by Union Fish Co., Erie, Penn., in 1931.

ALICE S. A 45 ft. gas powered fish tug, owned by Stuart R. Bell, Cheboygan, Mich., in 1947.

ALERT 107227 A 75 ft. x 17 ft. steel hulled, steam powered, fish tug, built at Buffalo, NY, by David Bell in 1896. From that year until 1917 it had four different owners in the U.S. She was then sold to Canadian owners, was fished on Lake Superior, and then moved inland in Canada. The vessel was still in existence in 1974.

ALEX C. Another 35 ft. Marinette Marine stock model, equipped with a Chrysler Crown gasoline engine; owned by Russell Couture, Ontonagon, Mich. By 1956, following a gas explosion, the boat was re-powered with a 4 cylinder Caterpillar diesel. In 1989, during a trip to Washington Island, the boat was observed at Jackson Harbor, still bearing her original name, and still showing the bulged up roof that had resulted from the explosion.

ALGER A 29 ft. gas boat owned by Joseph DesJardine, Grand Marais, Mich., in 1944.

ALICE 68 ft. steam powered fish tug owned by Richard Smith, Waukegan, Ill., in 1890.

ALICE A fish boat of unknown size, owned by John Nordrum, Charlevoix, Mich., in 1912.

ALICE .Originally steam powered, this 50 ft. fish tug was owned by John Lenz, Milwaukee, Wis., in 1934, and at that time equipped with a 75-90 h.p. Kahlenberg oil engine.

ALICE C. 107684 A 66 ft. x 18 ft. steam powered fish tug built at Manitowoc, WI in 1901. In 1931 the vessel was owned by John Girvin, Manistique, MI.

ALICE C. 225873 A 60 ft. x 15 ft. steam powered fish tug built at Michigan City, IN. in 1926. In 1938 the vessel was owned by Albert McLeod, Detour, MI.

ALICE S. A 45 ft. gas boat owned by Stuart R. Bell, Cheboygan, MI in 1947.

ALLIE BROTHERS A 40 ft. fish tug with 11 ft. beam, built by Peterson Boat Works, in1934, for Walter and Elmer Allie, Two Rivers, Wis. Boat was equipped with a 30-36 hp. Kahlenberg oil engine. A later owner in the Jacksonport area had the boat sheeted with steel by T.D. Vinette. In 1975 Norman and Harris Johnson, Port Wing, Wis., bought her. Norman repowered with a GM 3-71 diesel, and fished until his death in the fall of 1987, when she was sold to Marvin Morris, who fished out of Red Cliff. Boat is presently owned by Shawn and Troy Hanson, at Red Cliff. VIEW PICTURE

ALLISON B. 260494 Built by as the VALPURI at the Portage Lake Welding Machinery Co., Hancock, MI in 1949, for Urho Keranen, Ontonagon, MI. The 39 ft. x 12 ft. steel hulled vessel was equipped with a GM 6-71 diesel. After laying ashore abandoned, with the wood house rotted, and the machinery in disrepair, the boat was bought by William Boutin, Bayfield, WI in the late 1970s. The house was rebuilt, and the main engine replaced with a 165 hp Cummins diesel taken from another boat. The name was changed to ALLISON B. and Ronald Boutin, a brother of William Boutin, fished with the boat until 1985. The boat was then sold to Thomas Newago. Newago renamed her PEGGIE SUE, reworked the wood house in steel, and replaced the Cummins with a GM 6-71 diesel. In the mid 1990s the boat was seized by the Federal Government, hauled out at Ontonagon, MI, and auctioned off. Michael Peterson, Bayfield, WI was the high bidder. The boat is still in use, working out of Bayfield, bearing its fourth name, TNT. VIEW PICTURE

ALOHA 237857 Built by Sturgeon Bay Boat Works in 1937 for Lawrence E. Voight, Ellison Bay, Wis. The 45 ft. x 12 ft. wood hulled vessel was equipped with a 50-60 H.P. Kahlenberg oil engine. Voight owned the boat until 1948, when it was taken over by Walter, Robert and Leland Voight and operated out of Port Wing, Wis. for a few years. In 1960 and 1961 Dennis McDonald, Washington Island, Wis., was the owner. From 1961 to 1971 Alvin Anderson had the boat at Algoma, Wis. From 1971 to 1973 the boat was owned by Roy Nelson, and operated out of Milwaukee. Jim Dura, Marinette, Wis., bought the boat in 1973 and subsequently sold her to the National Park Service for display at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Lower Michigan. VIEW PICTURE

ALOLA Size not known. Owned by A.V. Simpson, Muskegon, Mich. in 1950.

ALPHA A fish boat, about 30 ft. in length, built on Madeline Island in the late 1930s by August Wick. It was the first boat he built, therefore the name. Wick fished the boat until the fall of 1949, when it was destroyed while in his boat hoist. A strong wind from the southwest brought the hoist down, and the boat went ashore.

ALPHARD 107427 Built at Manitowoc, Wis. by George B. Burger in 1898. Register length 55.6 ft. Beam 15.4 ft. Powered with a 90 ihp. Steam engine. Owners of record: Peter Schroeder, Two Rivers, 1899-1902. Two Rivers Dredge Dock, 1904-1921, and Charles Simons, Two Rivers, 1925-1926. Boat was listed as abandoned in the 1927 MVUS. It appears the vessels use as a fish tug was for a short time only.

AL SHELLSWICK Built by Peterson Boat Works, Sturgeon Bay, Wis., in 1935, for Alfred P. Shellswick, Waukegan, Ill. The boat was 46 ft. in length, with a beam of 13 ft. Original power was a 125 hp. Buda diesel. In 1936, however, the boat was repowered with a 60-70 hp. Kahlenberg oil engine. In 1965 she was still at Waukegan, and owned by Shellswick, but was later sold to Petersen Fisheries, Muskegon, Mich. Boat was shortly dismantled and burned. VIEW PICTURE

AMELIA D. A 45 ft., gas powered fish tug owned by Frank Drzewieki, Green Bay, Wis. Powered with a Chrysler Crown, the boat was fully enclosed, with middle pilot house and raised house over the stern.

AMERICA A 34 ft. gas powered fishing boat, owned by Wenzel Harak, Kewaunee, Wis., in 1926.

AMITY 226215 Built at Manitowoc, Wis., by Burger Boat Co., for Rawley Fish Co., Two Rivers, Wis. 55 ft. in length, beam 13 ft. the boat was equipped with a 75-90 hp. Kahlenberg oil engine. In 1947 she was owned by Norman LeClair, Two Rivers, and offered for sale. William Kozelman, Chicago, bought her for fishing operations from that port.

AMUNDSEN A small open fish boat owned by Chris Hadland, Bayfield, Wis. In 1912 , following the attainment of the South Geographic Pole by Roald Amundsen in 1911, the boat was named in his honor.

AMY JO See JENSEN BROS.

ANABEL 106962 Built by Burger in 1892. Register length 65.3 ft. Beam 16.0 ft Boat was powered with a 110 ihp Steam engine. Owners of record: John Coffey, Escanaba, Mich. 1893-1895. Alice B. Coffey, Escanaba-Manistique, Mich. 1897-1921. John Girvin, Manistique, 1925-1936. The 1930 MVUS lists boat as being in the Passenger Service.

ANABEL II 228126 Built by Burger in 1928 for Coffey Fishing Co., Manistique, Mich. 62 ft. in length with a beam of 15 ft., the boat was equipped with a 100-120 h.p. Kahlenberg oil engine. After sinking at the dock in Manistique some time in the 1930s, the boat was taken to the Roen Shipyard in Sturgeon Bay, where it eventually burned.

ANCHOR AWAY Owned by Guy Goldberg, Muskegon, Mich. in 1952.

ANDREW 253956 35 ft. x 11 ft. all-steel fish tug, built by Marinette Marine Corp.in 1947, for Andrew Igielski, Michigan City, Ind. In 951 Frank Sewers, Saugatuck, Mich. is listed as owner. In 1955 Erwin Sewers, Saugatuck, has taken over ownership and has the boat until 1960. The boat next went to Lake Superior fisherman Paul Jarve, Gay Mich. Originally equipped with a Chrysler Crown gasoline engine and 2 : 1 reduction gear, by 1965 a GM 6-71 had been installed. The boat has again been sold and is presently tied up to a private dock on Lac Labelle, north of Gay, Mich.

ANGLER Built at Naubinway, Mich, in 1923, by Henry Vincent, for William Sellman, Manistique, Mich. 34 ft. in length, with a beam of 9 ft, and equipped with a 20-24 hp. Kahlenberg oil engine. In 1927 Sellman sold her to Nelson Gondreau, Epoufette, Mich. In 1931 Elmer Anderson, Manistique, bought the boat, fished her until the fall of 1936. In 1937 Ralph Gauthier, Fairport, Mich. became yet another owner, taking the boat to Batchawana Bay, Ontario, on Lake Superior, fishing there for many years.

ANNA A small open fish boat owned by Herman Johnson, Sr., at Sand Island, in 1920s and into the early 30s. Otto Kuntz, Bayfield, was the owner in the early 1940s, adding a full cabin, with an open stern deck area. Irving Hadland, Bayfield, owned the boat for a time after this, eventually selling her to the partnership of Dan Brummer, and Dan Angus, LaPointe, Wis. They fished the boat into the 1950s, when they had a new boat built by Emil Erickson, at Big Bay, on Madeline Island.

ANNA 211845 A 44 ft. steam powered fish tug, built at Menominee, Mich. in 1913, and owned by Martin Mechalson, St.Ignace, Mich.

ANNA 205712 A 48 ft. steam powered fish tug, built at Manitowoc, Wis. in 1908. In 1938 the vessel was owned by Joseph Adrian, Milwaukee, Wis.

ANN B. Built by Peterson Boat Works in 1934, for George W. Bohman, Algoma, Wis. The 40 ft. boat was equipped with a 30-36 hp. Kahlenberg oil engine. After having a number of owners, and being used as a dive boat at Chicago, she was eventually acquired by anonymous owners, refitted at Two Rivers, and donated to the Rogers Street Fishing Museum there.

ANNA DORA A boat of unknown size, owned by the J.L. Brown Fishery, Alabaster, Mich., in 1930.

ANNIE W. A 33ft. steam powered fish boat owned by Asa Wyers, St.Ignace, Mich. in 1928.

ANNIE D. A 54 ft. steam powered fish tug owned by Henry Muhlenberg, Sheboygan, Wis. in 1916.

APACHE See McDONALD BROS

APOSTLE ISLANDS 237905 Built at Manitowoc, Wis., by Burger Boat Co., for Booth Fisheries, Bayfield, Wis. in 1937. This all-steel vessel was used to pick up fish, making daily runs among the Apostle Islands. During the fall herring run the boat was equipped with a net lifter, and brought in some sizeable lifts. Power was with a 75-90 h.p. Kahlenberg oil engine. The boat began service in the spring of 1938, and was sold to Sivertson Fisheries, Duluth, in 1958. The name was then changed to HIAWATHA.

ARBUTUS A 35 ft. gas powered fish boat, owned by Irwin Pulda, Racine, Wis., in 1936.

ARBUTUS A 36 ft. fish tug owned by Frank DeVet Sons, Fairport, Mich. in 1929. Boat was equipped with a 30-36 hp. Kahlenberg oil engine. Presently sitting ashore at Naubinway, Mich., the hull has been sheeted with steel, has a GM diesel, and is owned by Tim Matson, Munising, Mich.

ARCHIE TEGTMEYER 209309 Built at Manitowoc, Wis. in 1911, by Burger Boat Co.; a steam powered fish tug, 57 ft. in length, with a beam of 14 ft. In 1938 the boat was owned by Frank Paczocha, Milwaukee, Wis.

ARLENE A surplus Coast Guard double-ender life boat converted to use as a gill-net boat by Ray Van Hall, Grand Haven, MI in the early 1930s. The boat was operated until Van Hall built the 40 ft. steel hulled RVH in 1936.

ARLENE boat of unknown size, owned by the J.L. Brown Fishery, Alabaster, Mich., in 1930.

ARROW 212460 A 65 ft. steel hulled, steam powered fish tug, built at Ludington, Mich., in 1914, by Gile Boat Engine Co. Owned by Habel Bros., St.Joseph, MI from 1914 to 1920 and by Arthur Habel, and others, 1920 to 1924. John Steimle, Sheboygan, WI had the boat from 1924 to 1934 and Frederick Steimle, Sheboygan, WI, from 1934 to 1947. From 1947 to 1951, Earl Couture, Ontonagon, Mich. was listed as owner. Bertha Couture is then owner from 1951 to 1953. From 1953 to 1957 two different owners at Traverse City, MI had the vessel and converted her from steam to oil and used her as a tow tug. Roen Steamship Co., Sturgeon Bay, WI had ownership from 1957 to 1987, when the tug was scrapped.

ARROW 236557 A 35 ft. gas powered fish tug built at Portage Entry, Mich. in 1936, by Koski Boat Works, for owner J. Oscar Hermanson Sons, Oskar, Mich.

ARTHUR 106726 Built at East Saginaw, Mich. in 1890, by George Moiles.; a steam powered tug, 58 ft. in length, with a beam of 15 ft. Boat had many owners; among them, Thomas Hadland, Bayfield, Wis., during the years 1904-1907. Listed as a fish tug in MVUS, and as abandoned in 1918.

ARTHUR A 72 ft. steam powered fish tug owned by Tamms Meyer, Milwaukee, Wis., in 1901.

ATOMIC 256248 Built at Green Bay, Wis, in 1948 by Arnold Johnson, for Arthur Lasanen, Sr., Big Traverse Bay, Mich. The steel hull was 40 ft. x 12 ft. The boat was trucked to Big Traverse, where the owner built the wood cabin and installed the GM 4- 71 diesel engine. Following the retirement of Lasanen Sr. the boat was operated by Arthur Lasanen, Jr. for many years. In the early 1980s the boat was sold to a tribal fisheries operator, Donald Tadgerson, Brimley MI. The name has been changed to FISH HOG. The boat lays idle at Whitefish Pt. most of the time.

ATLANTIS Built at Chassell, Mich. in 1936, by Waino Wiinikka, Jr., for Kluck Brothers fishery, Grand Marais, Minn. The 35 ft. x 11 ft. square sterned vessel was equipped with a Gray marine gas engine, model Four-56 and turned a 24 x 20 propeller on a 2:1 reduction gear. Kluck Brothers later sold the boat to Angwall Fisheries, Marinette, Wis.

AUDREY JANE A 28 ft. gas powered fish tug owned by Orbie Anderson, Sister Bay, Wis., in 1945. A picture from that time shows the boat with a square stern, fully enclosed, and pilothouse aft.

AURIN Owned by A . Powell, Munising, Mich. in 1938. Size of boat not known.

AVALON Owned by Frank Schapler, Petoskey, Mich. in 1931. Size of boat not known.

AVIS A 36 ft. gas powered fish boat owned by Emil Nelson, Ellison Bay, Wis., in 1929

A.W. 221565 Built at Manitowoc, WI in 1920 by Burger Boat Co. The 38 ft. x 10 ft. wood hulled fishing boat was equipped with various engines during its service as a fishing vessel. During 1925-1926 it was listed as gasoline engine powered. 1927 to 1929 it was listed as oil engine powered. In 1930-1931 listed again as gasoline engine powered.. Then from 1932 an onward as 30 hp oil engine powered. All engines previously were 30 hp. Owners of record are: Fred Wilke, Two Rivers, WI 1925 1929; Adolph Ruzek, Two Rivers, WI 1930 - 1934; Thomas Perry, Forrestville, WI 1934 - 1944. The boat was out of documentation in 1945.

A. WEBORG Small fish boat owned by Alfred and William Weborg, Gills Rock, Wis., in 1903.

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