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. . . .Eili~i::::'.:.:i...:...::..:i.L__~~___r;;.W8 Steam canaler F. B . Thurber negotiates the swing bridge at the Saugatuck River in Westport , Connecticut, in the early 1900s.
pri sed what ten pounds of steam does!" Normal bo iler pressure was l 50psiten pounds gave her 160psi. Dan Roland continued: "Some of those Scandinavian captains (ex- bluewatermen)! We were tiedup at Whitestone a coupl e days, strong northeaster-Captain came down after supper,' I tank ve make a start, I can see a star! ' I says, ' Cap, if we can keep water in the boiler go ing in that direction .' We started out. Afore we got to Execution Light we were taking it too heavy, so I told the fireman to start the pump on the forward tank [to li ghten the load by pumping out fresh water] and get the bow up, otherwise we were gonna go down. We were taking it too strong . The bunker plates weren ' t built for that kind of weather. So the Captai n hollered down to me (through the speaking tube), ' Vy yo u pumping?' I said, ' Water! ' He said , ' I know it 's water, what kind of water?' You know , my cork was o ut, we were running light (no tows)-testing the seas. They were too much for us rea ll y ! I say these guys came off of ships, they were used to thi s rough weather! " A major cause for concern during a blow was the main steam line. The wooden-hull ed tugs worked while they labo red in a seaway and the pipes were cast iron , 35 years old at that time. The movement between the boiler and the eng ine could potentially cause a rupture. Merc ifull y, thi s never happened to Dan, but on two occasions the tail-shaft between the e ng ine and propeller snapped, potentia ll y allowing the eng ine to race out of control under no load. " It 's a terrible feelin g, I know that. SEA HISTORY 76, WINTER 1995-96
Dan Roland, First Engineer (a t.far righl) poses with the crew of' the tug Huntingdon in her engine room. Th e photograph was taken hy a New York Telegram reporter who sailed occasionally with the tug . Th e tug was powered hy the S11llil'G11 single-cvlinder high-pressure steam engine in the foreground. Notice the cotton wool waste used to polish the cylinder head. This was the second engineer's Joh.
Luckily I was at the control s with my hand on the throttle so I stopped it right there. The eng ine gets away from youthe tail-shaft break s, the cylinder head blows and goes through the sky light. Both times I was able to stop the racing eng ine but not before it shook the boat. All the dishes on the galley she lves shook off-the shaft, six or seven inches in diameter, just broke wide open-you get those revolving like that, you couldn't stop it! " Wrapping a hawser in the propeller was an occupational hazard in tugboating although it rare ly happened. " Well , it happened due in part to a re laxed capta in and deck hand! It jamsup ti ght. I'd just gone Chief on the Huntin gton and we had just pull ed in to the stake boat and the Captain, he was a tough bird , and we backed up and got a hawser in the wheel. He said ' I' ll g ive anyo ne ten dollars to go down and cut that line off'- nobody would go. So, I said ,' Alright. ' I put on my ti ghts and the first thing I did was shut off the main steam line, in case there was any steam -otherwise it [the prope ller] hits yo u -you' re gone. Then I borrowed one of the cook 's carv ing knives and tied it arou nd my wrist and went into the water. I went down several times, nine foot draft, and cut it through. Then I came up and turned the steam on again and she threw off the piece that was in therefour- or five-inch line." Dan did what was necessary to get under way again. Dan Roland joined a Red Star tug on 2 January 19 17 as a fireman. For the next twenty- two yea rs he engi neered on the Red Star's Norwalk, Huntington ,
and Hempstead-wooden-hulled, steampowe red tow boats. When work started slackening off in the late '30s and when Red Star bega n converting their boats to diesel, Dan "swa llowed the anchor. " He preferred the slow-turning, smooth power of steam to the noi sy, vibrating diese ls. Hi s retirement from tugboating co in c ided with the ever-increas ing tran sport of goods by truck via the in terstate road system afte r the war. Today the estuaries that fin ger into the littora l of Long Island and Con necti cut are silted in and the long, drawn-out moan of a steam whistle, signaling for a bridge open ing, is the fond memory of a few old tugboat men in the late autum n of the ir li ves. !,
Captain Teuscher, 1989 recipient of the NMHS James Monroe Award for his work in maritime history, is a professional sailor who has contributed to Sea Hi story on subjects as diverse as Istanbul' s steamboats, Bahamian kerosene lighthouses and Caribbean sailing cra.fi. He recently formed a production company (No rth Island Television) to produce maritime-related media projects.
NOTE: The fo ll owing tugmen we re interviewed for this article: Dan Roland (99) worked for the Red Star tugboat com pany from 19 17 to 1939, rising quickly from fireman to second engineer to first engineer. Howa rd Ga ult (97) is the grand son of the founder of L. H . Ga ult & Son, a company th at imported coal to Westport CT and now is in the fuel oi l and co nstructio n suppl y business. Except for a stint in the merchant marine during World War 11. Ernie Schm idt (79) worked for the old Y &O coa l company in Stratford . Connecti cut. as deckhand and tugboat pi lot.
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