RUSSEL BROTHERS Ltd. Steelcraft winch boat and warping tug builders from Owen Sound, Ontario.

Russel Brothers Limited OWEN SOUND, ONTARIO Steelcraft Boat Builders

Dryden II

Hull #728. Canadian List of Shipping 1956: Dryden II [C.175055] registered at Kenora; built at Owen Sound in 1947. 37'6 x 10' x 4'3; 10 g.t.; 7 n.t.; 138 hp. Owned by Dryden Paper Co. Ltd., Montreal. Canadian List of Shipping 1970: Steel tug Dryden II [C.175055] registered at Kenora. Built at Owen Sound in 1947. 37'6, 10 g.t. Details for registered vessel DRYDEN II (O.N. 175055) Date of closing: 1999-02-16. Dec. 2019: owned by Brian Fleischer.

Dryden Paper Co. Ltd. Wages Nov. 1, 1953. Courtesy Dave Debney. Dave Debney comments (7 Dec 2014): "A bunch of us from work that are all retired have been going for coffee every Wednesday morning for the last six years. A couple of weeks ago, we somehow got started on a discussion of where our tugboats from the Pulp and Paper Mill in Dryden ended up. Hauling log booms on the lake and river had ended in 1981. We knew most had been sold between 1981 and 1984 but had no idea where they went or what became of them. There were five tugs, the Anglo Duchess, Dryden 2, Dryden 3, Dryden 4 and the Pine Bay. The Duchess was the largest and actually replaced the three Dryden tugs for hauling booms on the lake. Dryden 2, 3 and 4 were mainly used on the river after Duchess's arrival. Pine Bay, which no one seems to have any information on, now sits on the river bank in front of the mill as a monument." source: http://forum.trailersailor.com/post.php?id=1398228

Dryden II in Kenora, Nov. 8, 2019. Photo by Brian Fleischer.

Dryden II, photos by Dave Debney.

Dryden II Boat No. 728 Length 37'6 Beam 10'
Year 1947. Photo by Brian Fleischer.

Brian Fleischer comments (Dec. 4th, 2019): "I worked at the Dryden mill from 1985-95. Dryden II was worked on Lake of the Woods, along with a matching Russel 60 barge. Hoping to get it shipshape and working with the barge again this summer. It and the barge were down in the Sioux Narrows area of the lake. We had a fun voyage getting them back to Kenora... Dryden II and un-named Russel barge (hull 649). Photo by Brian Fleischer.