by Hans | July 16th, 2009
Hidden under tarpaulins since January, the tugboat Daniel McAllister has come out of hiding to display its absolutely remarkable new look to passers-by! Nearly three months of meticulous work were required to restore the Daniel McAllister to its original pride! Its exterior and life boat were repainted in their original colours; its hull was repaired; its woodwork, identification plates, portholes, and navigation and search lights were also restored. Tugboats are small, powerful boats that guide, tow and push ships entering and leaving the port and assist them in docking. They are indispensable to port operations. A century and counting the Daniel McAllister is the largest preserved tug in Canada and the second-oldest preserved oceangoing tug in the world. The Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board has recognized her as being of exceptional importance. Over the years, the Daniel McAllister has undergone several transformations, changing workplaces and names several times. Originally launched as Helena in 1907, she began service on the Atlantic coast. In the 1940s, while working on the Great Lakes, her steam engine was replaced with a more powerful diesel engine. After a major refit in 1956, she was renamed Helen M.B. Later, in the 1960s in Montréal, McAllister Towing Limited named her Daniel McAllister, after a member of this important family of ship owners. She was finally retired from service in the 1980s. An important partnership. When the Ocean Group purchased Montréal’s McAllister Towing Limited in 1997, the Daniel McAllister was acquired by the Musée Maritime du Québec, which partnered with the Old Port of Montréal Corporation to ensure the ship’s preservation. The Old Port of Montréal Corporation acquired the ship in 2008. The mission of the Musée Maritime du Québec is to safeguard, study, disseminate, and enhance Québec’s maritime heritage, including its Arctic territory. The tugboat Daniel McAllister awaits admiring visitors at the dock of gate number one of the Lachine Canal, off the Old Port of Montréal Quays, at the foot of McGill St., just west of the Café des Eclusiers, in Old Montréal. Interlag made the restoration under the supervision of the naval architect Raymond Daoust. The Old Port of Montréal acknowledges its sponsors, Sleeman, Pepsi and Telus. (Source:CNW-Telbec)
The Daniel McAllister was built in 1905-1906, at Collingwood shipyard, and launched in 1907 under the name Helena. The oceangoing tugboat measured 35.06 mtrs l.o.a.(115ft).and 7.12 mtrs beam’ (23.36’) across at the midship and 3.658 mtrs moulded depth (12’).She began her career on the Atlantic coast. The Daniel Mcallister was placed here after the locks were re built. The tug is displaced at the foot of McGill Street in Montreal near McAllister’s base in the 60s at the foot of the old Lachine Canal. When she was converted from steam to diesel the engine installed came from a surplus U.S. navy minesweeper. The boat is sitting on a concrete cradle (visible when the intermediate pool is drained) kind a funny the boat is a sieve, when they drain the canal you see water coming out for hours!! he tugboat was renamed Daniel McAllister when it was purchased by McAllister Towing Ltd. in 1967, she could often be seen towing Canadian Pacific’s large passenger liners – the Empress of Canada and the Empress of England – into the port of Montreal where she ended her career in the 1980s.
Photo: From the collection of Jan van der Doe., Made in the 80th
