The Derelict Tug J.S. Polhemus

by John Buchanan 2017

J.S. Polhemus

The J.S. Polhemus in 2013. (Photo from the John Buchanan collection. )

In 1939 she was owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers having been built in Washington State by R.B. Bivens to a design by O.A. Seigley. She was named for J.S. Polhemus who was an administrator of U.S. Lighthouses.

J.S. Polhemus

The J.S. Polhemus in 1939. (Photo from the December 1939 issue of Pacific Motor Boat Magazine. )

She was a tug boat 78.6’ x 21.6’ x 5’ powered by a 350hp DMG–26 diesel engine by Enterprise Engine & Foundry Co., San Francisco CA.

J.S. Polhemus

The builders of the J.S. Polhemus in 1939. From l to r: R.B. Bivens (builder); O.A. Seigley (designer and supervisor of construction); Bill Porter (Enterprise Engine Co.); M.C. Bray (Superintendent of plant for the engineers); George Nickum (consultant naval architect). (Photo from the December 1939 issue of Pacific Motor Boat Magazine. )

Derelict Vessels

The J.S. Polhemus in the Derelict Boat Flotilla at Darrell Bay BC in 2016 (Photo from the John Buchanan collection. )

The J.S. Polhemus is part of a group of boats that over the last 5 years or so has been reduced by 6 because one by one they have sunk mostly from lack of maintenance. The group of boats in question was in the Squamish Harbor last year and was ordered to move. The boats were then moved just outside the harbor to a small bay called Darrell Bay in Howe Sound B.C. There they sit where already two have sunk and can be seen at low tide. My interest in these boats is both the environmental impact they present, and my love of their history. Sadly the J.S. Polhemus will also probably sink there one day too.



To quote from this article please cite:

Buchanan, John (2017) The Derelict Tug J.S. Polhemus. Nauticapedia.ca 2017. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/JS_Polhemus.php

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