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Colville / Gulf Wave
La Praxis / Bobby Bowes

YTS 576. Hull #484. Particulars Of Canadian War Vessels Building & Projected by naval Service Headquarters (D. N. C. Dept.) 1943 – 1945: Colville [CN843]. On 27 May 1944, Colville was assigned to Sydney, NS. Transport Canada List 2003: owned by Dean Construction Co., LaSalle, Ontario. Canadian List of Shipping 1994: Steel tug a] La Praxis [C.320827] built at Owen Sound in 1944. Renamed b] Bobby Bowes. Owned by Dean Construction, Belle River, Ontario. GAO Notes: Built as a ville' class tug for the Canadian navy. Registered at Toronto as Bobby Bowes in 1979. Hull #484.


This small tug was built by Russel Brothers in 1944 as the “Ville”-class tug Colville for the Canadian Navy. In 1964 she was sold civilian and renamed Gulf Wave. She was later renamed La Praxis. In 1979, she was sold to Dean Construction of LaSalle, ON and renamed Bobby Bowes. She is currently active in the marine construction trade for Dean. Type: Single Screw Tugboat Year Built: 1944 Builder: Russel Brothers Ltd., Owen Sound, ON Horsepower: 140 bhp Length: 37' 04? Breadth: 10' 02? Depth: 3' 06? Port of Registry: Toronto, ON
Name 1 1944 Colville (H.M.C.S.)
Name 2 1946 Colville (C.N.A.V.)
Name 3 1965 Gulf Wave
Name 4 1972 La Praxis
Name 5 1979 Bobby Bowes
Registry #320827. Pendant #YTS.576. In 1944 she was built for the Royal Canadian Navy. She was employed as a Harbour tug at Sydney, NS. 1–142bhp, 3nhp Cummins diesel engine (1944). In 1965 she was sold to Pitts Engineering Construction Ltd., Toronto, ON. In 1982 the company name Pitts Engineering Construction Ltd was changed to Banister Continental LTD. Markham, ON. In 2018 she was owned by Dean Construction Co., Ltd., Lasalle, ON.

 

Photo courtesy Robert Cox.

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Bobby Bowes in Oct. 1979. Photo by Mike Wolowich.

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Bobby Bowes in Port Lambton, Ont., 1998. Photo by George Lee.

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Dean tugs NEPTUNE III and BOBBY BOWES. Detroit, photos by Mike Nicholls, June 2005.
boatnerd source: http://www.boatnerd.com/news/newsthumbs/newsthumbs_134.htm

 

Bobby Bowes at LaSalle, Ontario, Canada, just off the Detroit river. May 12/06. Photo by Paul Beesley.

 

Dean Construction's Ville tug Bobby Bowes in LaSalle, ON. Photos by Mike Cunningham July 26, 2019. Matthew Carlson comments: "They are rebuilding it and plan to put it back in service soon. They installed a new bigger 250 Cummins in it. The old engine went for scrap already. This looks like a Cummins NH250."

 

For more Russel exhibits visit Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum 1165 1st Ave West, Owen Sound, ON N4K 4K8
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