John Roen
Congratulations Rock! The Rock has correctly identified this week’s Mystery Ship as the John Roen. The tug was built in 1895 at Camden, New Jersey for the Army Corps of Engineers. The vessel was acquired by Walthen & Company of Baltimore, Maryland in 1932 and renamed the Lamont. The Roen Steamship company purchased the tug in 1935 and renamed the vessel the John Roen. The ship changed hands several times over the next few decades before being acquired by the Great Lakes Towing Company in 1951. She was renamed the Samuel E. Bool in 1953. The tug was renamed the Georgia in 1972 and slipped from documentation shortly thereafter.
posted by Ookpik at 11:26 AM
8 Comments:
What a beautiful tug, classic lines. I just don't know what it is.
If that's a P in the white diamond on her stack, I think of the Pringle Barge Line out of Detroit. But my photos of the Dean and the James, two well-know Pringle tugs, show a much large P on the stack, and no diamond.
There used to be a J. P. Porter Company out of Cleveland, but I don't have any photos of their tugs, some 12 in number.
That isn't a P. ;)
Wow! Not even a hint. How 'bout Roen SS out of Wisconsin?
I knew you didn't need a hint. ;)
Roen SS it is! :)
I have a pix of the John Purves with a hull and cabin configuration quite like that shown in the photograph. But it is a later photo and she has a diesel stack, not that beautiful, tall one depicted in your picture.
The Purves on makeover?
Otherwise, Roen 4 or 5.!!
You pretty much got it Rock! The tug is actually the first John Roen from 1935. The vessel was formerly known as the Lamont.
Don't forget about the John Roen V which pulled my dad's boat the Marquis Roen all around the Great Lakes for many years. You can find a picture of the John Roen V pulling the Marquis on the internet.
My dad also sailed on the Marquis Roen (2) for many years as a crane operator. (Clayton Olson) It amazes me how a large heavily loaded ship like that safely made it all around the great lakes in all kinds of weather without any major incidents that I know of. Their only life line being the heavy cable the tug used to pull them through rough waters. That was their propulsion! If that cable broke and they went sideways into high seas, it could have easily been the end for them. Their lives hinged on that tug maintaining power and the strength of a cable!
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