''Glenada'' is an ex- Canadian navy

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

that was launched in 1943. ''Glenada'' was built by Russel Brothers Limited in Owen Sound, Ontario. It is one of twenty 1943 Glen-class tugs, eleven of which were built by the Russel Brothers Company. When it served for the Royal Canadian Navy the official number for this boat was (W30) 177886 and the Canadian Navy number was 534. The Glen-class tugs were made in two designs (designated "A" and "B"); ''Glenada'' is an "A" design, with a longer main

deck house A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a ship or an aircraft. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's deck may be referred to as a deckhouse. Sailing ships In sailing ships, the officers and paying passengers wou ...

, extending

aft "Aft", in nautical terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning towards the stern (rear) of the ship, aircraft or spacecraft, when the frame of reference is within the ship, headed at the fore. For example, "Able Seaman Smith; lie aft!" or "Wh ...

over the engine room, and uniform height bulwarks from forward to aft. A

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

is mounted on the bridgedeck aft of the stack. ''Glenada'' was originally powered by one Vivian 8-cylinder diesel ( with

supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...

). After it was decommissioned from the navy it was registered in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in 1956, and used by Sandrin Bros. in

Sarnia, Ontario Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron flo ...

until 1995 when it was purchased by Thunder Bay Tug Services who still owns/runs it in

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

. In 1977 ''Glenada'' was widened on each side. In 1977 the main engine suffered serious damage while assisting a ship named ''Hilda Marjanne'' in the St. Clair River. This led to the engine was being swapped out for a

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

D399 V16 turbo-charged diesel engine that produces at 1200 RPM. The tug has two generators, a Detroit Diesel 3-71 generator and a John Deere 4-cylinder diesel generator.

Service history

''Glenada'' and its crew were on hand to assist in the 1996 rescue of a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

named ''Grampa Woo'' that had broken free from its dock while undergoing repairs. At the time of the incident, ''Grampa Woo'' had no propulsion capability, and was adrift. The Medal of Bravery was awarded to Captain Gerry Dawson, M.B. and Engineer John E. Olson, M.B.,while deckhand James Harding, received the Star of Courage on 10 May 1999. ''Glenada'' rescued a fishing vessel on 7 April 2007. ''Glenada'' is on display once a year at the Thunder Bay River Fest, alongside the historical ''James Whalen'' tugboat and the TBay Coast Guard boat.

References

# Joan Skelton "Rescue From Grampa Woo" book {{DEFAULTSORT:Glenada 1943 ships Auxiliary ships of the Royal Canadian Navy Tugboats of Canada Tugboats on the Great Lakes Ships built in Ontario

Service history

See also

References