Canadian List of Shipping 1956: Boomalong [C.177629] registered at Toronto. Built at Owen Sound in 1944. Dimensions: 37’ 2 x 10’ 6 x 3’ 8; 7 g.t; 5 n.t.; 93 hp. Owned by Abitibi Power & Paper Co., Ltd., Toronto. Canadian List of Shipping 1970: Steel tug Boomalong [C.177629] registered at Toronto. Built at Owen Sound in 1944. 37’; 13 g.t. Owned by Kimberly – Clark Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd. Canadian List of Ships 1994 – 95: Steel tug Boomalong [C.177629] Owned by Donald Dexter, 44 Kent Avenue, Sault Ste., Marie, Ontario. Transport Canada List 2003: Owned by Donald Delayer, Sault Ste., Marie, Ontario. GAO Notes: Boomalong was originally H.M.C.S. Neville. Saw active service in St. John and was sold after the war to Long Lac paper Company in 1946. In 1946 Abitibi pulp and Paper Company bought her and used her for 18 years. She was then sold to Sheppard and Morrison in Chapleau, Ontario. In 1973 Don Delayer purchased the tug and lifted her out at Mile 92 in the Montreal River. She was loaded on a flat car and brought to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. She was then updated and modernized and renamed Boomalong. After Don Delayer died at the end of Feb. 2018, ownership passed to AVERY CONSTRUCTION LIMITED
Address 940 SECOND LINE W, SAULT STE MARIE, ON, CANADA.
Pulpwood Supply Co., Ltd. 1946 - 1947
Long Lac Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd. 1947 - 1948
Abitibi Power & Paper Co., Ltd. 1948 - 1964
Sheppard & Morse, Ltd. 1964 - 1973
Donald W. Delayer 1973 - 2018
Dan Avery, Avery Const. 2018
Registry #177629. 1 - 93bhp 2nhp diesel engine (1944).
In 1944 she was built for the Royal Canadian Navy. In 1946 she was sold to Pulpwood Supply Co. Ltd., Toronto, ON. In 2018 she was owned by Avery Construction Ltd, Sault-Ste-Marie.
Name 1 1944 Neville (H.M.C.S.)
Name 2 1946 Boomalong
Steve Briggs comments (Dec. 14, 2017): Two photos from the Marathon & District Historical Society taken near Regan, Ontario, where the Abitibi Pulp and Paper Company operated. The winch boat name Esnagi (built 1946) is pretty obvious. Mobert is a locale adjacent to Regan. The Pic Mobert Reserve is right there on the river. There is an open top winch boat named Mobert (built 1946) currently in South Carolina. I would bet it is this one. There seems a really good chance that the Ville is Neville/Boomalong (built 1944). "In 1946 Abitibi Pulp and Paper Company bought her and used her for 18 years." so that dates the photos to somewhere between '46 and '64. Click to enlarge.
Photo Date: Soo Locks, Aug. 22nd, 1981 Photo and tables below courtesy Great Lakes Vessels Index,
Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University
Boomalong, Soo Great Tugboat Race 1987. Courtesy Jeannette Cox. n.b. - the date of the Abitibi purchase was likely 1948, not 1968 as the entry below says.
2003 Great Tugboat Race programme courtesy Jeanette Cox. "The tug was built by Russel Brothers in Owen Sound, Ontario and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy in 1944. She was called the H.M.C.S. NEVILLE. She travelled by deck cargo from Halifax to St. John and later was sold to Crown Assets Surplus. She was sold to Longlac Paper Company in 1946. In 1968, Abitibi Pulp Company bought her and used her for 18 years. She was then sold to Sheppard and Morrison in Chapleau, Ontario. In 1973, Don Delayer purchased the tug and lifted her out at Mile 92, on the Montreal River. She was loaded on a flat car and brought to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. She was then updated and modernized and renamed the Boom A Long."
April 20, 2016. Boomalong was getting hauled out. Her fine lines made me think she has a storied past, and it turns out she does. She began life in 1944 in Owen Sound, ON as HMCS Neville, HMCS being Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship. She’s a Russel Brothers boat that has been around, currently quite far from Sault Ste. Marie. Photo taken along Caloosahatchee Canal in Florida in March 2016. Photos by Will Van Dorp. source: https://tugster.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/really-random-tugs-33-and-more/
Obituary of Donald Delayer ...
We regret to announce the passing of our father in Cobourg, Ontario at the Golden Plough Nursing Home. Predeceased by his wife Colleen (1989). Father of Debbie Campbell (John), Cindy Fergus (Richard) and Stephen (Jodi). He loved to do wood working and was Captain of the tug “Boomalong”. He was an active proud member of the Freemasons and held numerous positions. He enjoyed being with friends and partaking in a few beer. He will be dearly missed by his grandchildren Mara Honeyford (Paul), Colleen Woods (Casey), Nicole Dunn (Andrew), Kristen (Leeve), Dana, James (Melissa) and his great grandchildren. Honourary grandfather of Jennifer (Daniel), Alison (Derek), Heather (Darren) and Grant (Kristen). He was a character and will be missed by his family. Special thanks to Bill Scoffield (Minda), his nephew, who took care of him in his later years. Memorial service to be held at a later date. Memorial donation made to ARCH would be appreciated by the family.
Tugs still chugging nearly 3 decades later
By Brian Kelly, Sault Star, Monday, July 6, 2009.
His tugboat is slow, but Don Delayer keeps moving at a pretty good clip.
The only surviving captain of the first Great Tugboat Race in 1982 fortified himself for Saturday's 28th annual race with a stack of pancakes on board a barge before exchanging a series of quips, and greetings, with other race participants.
"I've got my cheatin' clothes on," said Delayer to one participant as he made his way to his tug, Boomalong, after breakfast.
The annual race along the St. Mary's River began nearly 30 years ago when Al Bourgond, Howard Avery and Delayer decided to settle a dispute about whose tugboat was the fastest with a race at Gros Cap.
"Everybody was arguing about who was the fastest," said Delayer, 82.
"(A race) is one way to settle it. Howard said, 'Come on, put 'em all together and see what they can do.'"
Delayer credits Avery, a local entrepreneur who died in 2005 at age 78, for launching what has become a long-time fundraiser that has raised more than $240,000 -- with an estimated $20,000 to $25,000 coming from this year's race -- to help children with physical disabilities in the Twin Saults.
"I think it's terrific," Delayer said of the dollars raised.
"There's a lot of kids a lot healthier and happier by what's happened here."
That captains of slow-moving tugboats continue to square off against one another in good-natured competition each year is a pleasant surprise for Delayer.
He expected the race would have ended long before 2009.
"I thought maybe it would fade away because lots of times when (you) get a deal like that going, the interest eventually fades and fades," said Delayer.
"You got to have young people coming up. There's lots of them that are willing to get in there and work like this guy here (current Boomalong co-captain Neil Robertson's son, Jamie)."
Saturday's race featured race president Julie Gardiner's daughter behind the wheel of Ricketts Harbour and her son captaining Queen of Hearts. Avery's son, Jeff, guided the 67-year-old Regan.
"It's the second generation coming up," said Gardiner.
Delayer has owned the Boomalong since 1973. The 100-horsepower vessel was built in 1944 as a harbour tug for the Canadian navy. It has a top speed of about eight knots, or about 15 kilometres an hour.
"When we aren't going slow, we're stopped," said De-layer.
"You could probably walk as fast . . . (Tugboats) were never meant to be fast. Just to work."
Work was something Delayer tried not to do Saturday. These days, he leaves the captain's duties to Robertson and John Campbell.
But before he sat down on a plastic chair on the tug's rear deck alongside Campbell, Delayer stood behind the wheel to guide the Boomalong out of its berth.
"He always does the tricky spots," said lifelong friend Barb Lapointe. "He has the expertise plus, plus."
Saturday's race marked the first time since 1982 the three original tugs, Boomalong, Renesue and Whitney III, competed by themselves.
"It's really a special race that we're running mostly for Don Delayer's sake," said Gardiner.
"I think it's great. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. It's just so much history. This is where it started."
The slow-poke Boomalong placed first.
Sean Morettin was cheering for the Avery Bay in the 200-to-500 horsepower division.
His brother, Matthew, and stepfather, Ab Senecal, were on board. Morettin also knew the captain, Dan Avery.
This is the third year the Checker Cab custodian has taken in the races. His collapsable chair was strategically placed on the boardwalk outside the Civic Centre to catch the tugs as they raced westward.
"You see everything," said Morettin, who was decked out in an event T-shirt, ball cap and button.
"It's like a tourist attraction. People can come out and have a good time."
The day ended on a sombre note when a volunteer collapsed at Clergue Park. The man is believe to have suffered a cardiac arrest, said captain Terry Dubois of Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services. He died at Sault Area Hospital.
- - -
Race results
Hobby:Restless;
Gator:Whitney III, Cobra, Ricketts Harbour;
Fish Tugs:Leila Mae, Kelsey T;
0-200 horsepower:Sheila P, Scottish Thistle, Queensville;
200-500 horsepower:J. D. Graham, Regan, Decelles;
500+ horsepower:Wilfred Cohen, Reliance, Isaac Purvis;
Original Three:Boomalong, Whitney III, Renesue;
Grudge match (big tugs): Decelles, J. D. Graham, Avery Bay;
Grudge match (small tugs): Sheila P, Queensville, Scottish Thistle;
Best-dress tug:Whitney III.
Jul 1, 2015: LOCAL2 cameras were on the scene as 16 vessels took part in the 34th annual Great Tugboat Race, held Saturday afternoon on the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. This four minute video features short interviews with Adam Lyons of Whitney III, Roy Wilson of Queensville, and Annette Currie of Mikayla. Also Marc Mousseau. Also footage of Boomalong, Scottish Thistle, Cobra and (briefly) W.D. McCosh. source: https://www.sootoday.com/videos/news/tugging-along-the-st-marys-river-11509
Boomalong, taken from the Norgoma. Photo by Jimmy Polnick, May 8, 2019.
For more Russel exhibits visit Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum 1165 1st Ave West, Owen Sound, ON N4K 4K8 (519) 371-3333 http://marinerail.com
http://marinerail.com
