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

Russel Brothers Limited OWEN SOUND, ONTARIO Steelcraft Boat Builders

Dryden 4 / Emma Morgan

Canadian List of Shipping 1956: Dryden 4 [C.175057] registered at Kenora; built at Owen Sound in 1947. 35'2 x 10' x 4'; 11 g.t.; 7 n.t.; 138 hp. Owned by Dryden Paper Co. Ltd. Montreal. Canadian List of Shipping 1970: Steel tug Dryden 4 [C.175057] registered at Kenora. Built at Owen Sound in 1947. 35'; 11 g.t. Owned by Dryden Paper Co. Ltd., Montreal.

Fully restored by Nick Finazzo of Pier 500 Marina, Wyandotte, MI. Nick says: "Dryden 4 tugboat hull # 751. I purchased the boat over 3 years ago (c. 2003) from a gentleman named Barry Shepard. He purchased it directly from the paper mill, and renamed it Emma Morgan. I have been doing an extensive restoration to this tugboat since I purchased it. You can see the attached photos. Just some of the work I did to the tug was reproducing exact replicas of the original metal window frames. The old ones were just too rotted to repair. The tug is fully functional and to the best of my knowledge has all the original parts. The winch is in great working order and as you can see it has been stripped to bare metal and repainted. The entire boat has been sand blasted Inside and out and painted. The paint I have been using is called Por 15, it's an incredibly tough paint."

Nick continues (Dec. 2006): "She will be 100% complete this spring. I don't have much to do to her. I just need to restore and paint the wood flooring in the engine room, install and hook up gauges, restore wood windows , and some other misc details. I have also started to write down some of the details of my restoration. I am hoping that it could be of some use to anyone wishing to restore theirs. I have been very tedious with the restoration and kept her as original as possible, Every nut and bolt was marked during disassemble and put back where it came from. Every square inch was sandblasted and painted with epoxy paint I even got between the keel cooler and hull to protect the metal."

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

Emma Morgan (ex Dryden 4) when Barry Shepard of Dryden, ON owned her, the Dryden Mill in the background.

ENLARGE to 2048 pixels wide

Pier 500 Marina, Wyandotte, MI., c. 2003.

ENLARGE to 1024 pixels wide

ENLARGE to 2832 pixels wide

Restoring a 37' Russel Tug
Photos and Text courtesy Nick Finazzo
Pier 500 Marina, Wyandotte, MI.

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Sandblasting the Exterior

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Old Paint Stripped Off

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Sandblasting the Interior

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Cabin Interior

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Engine 1

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Engine 2

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Engine 3

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Engine 4

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Winch Motor

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Winch Spool

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Proud Papa

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Painted Helm

CLICK TO ENLARGE - 1024
Outside Painted

Former Paper Company tugboat lovingly restored
Chris Marchand January 12, 2010
https://thedrydenobserver.ca/2010/01/12/former-paper-company-tugboat-lovingly-restored/

Boats have served an important role in the history of the Dryden area as tools for both industry and recreation. But like many tools, those that have endured beyond their �useful lifespan� risk becoming an inoperable museum piece at best, or the cruel fate of enduring future generations as a rusting hulk or scrap metal. Michigan marina owner Nick Finazzo has spent the last seven years restoring this 1947 Russell Brothers tug to pristine condition. The Dryden 4 was previously in the service of the Dryden Paper Company during the 1950s and 60s.

The Dryden 4, a 1947 Russell Brothers tugboat, is one lucky vessel. After decades of service to the Dryden Paper Company during the 1950s and �60s, the Dryden 4 has been lucky enough to find a kindred spirit who has meticulously restored the tug to a pristine condition and extended its lifespan for generations to come. Wyandotte, Michigan marina owner Nick Finazzo purchased the Dryden 4 from local resident Barry Shepherd and has spent the past seven years fussing over every last detail of restoring the craft to its former glory in the Detroit area suburb. Before he ever had intentions of restoring the tug, Finazzo says the Dryden 4 had paid for itself within a year in its workhorse role at the marina.

Coming from a family of automobile restoration enthusiasts, Finazzo says the restoration project began when he set about replacing the tug�s 12 window frames. Unsatisfied with the efforts of a local metal shop, Finazzo says he learned to weld in order to produce exact replicas. �I like looking at things as though they were untouched by history,� he said. �You know that some guy welded that, so I always try to preserve those details. It�s just a thing with me. Those windows are fanatically perfect. The guy who built the boat would not know that those frames had been replaced.� On top of general repairs, Finazzo sandblasted nearly every surface of the tug inside and out and applied a new coat of epoxy paint, he made repairs to the decking and spent considerable time on the boat�s interior restoring, preserving the well-worn original surfaces. �They used to wear spiked boots,� said Finazzo. �I left all the holes in the wood and I varnished it. It looks really cool, it�s got that worn look. It has its scars and you can see how hard it was used.�

Finazzo and friends also removed the tug�s 2000 lbs winch gearbox, in order to re-machine a bearing. The boat still has most of its original features including the anchor and propeller cage. One of the few deviations from historical accuracy was the replacement of the tug�s original 160 horsepower diesel motor with a new 250 hp motor � a move he says is common among other tug owners of the same vintage and effectively doubles the craft�s power. �When I did some research on the Russell Brothers website, it looks like around 1975 everyone was replacing the engines with a 250 hp Cummins. Looks wise, it�s almost identical.� In the spring, Finazzo will showcase the newly restored Dryden 4 at the Detroit Boat Show at Cobo Centre. �It�s been seven years of work,� he said. �I can�t even remember half of the things I�ve done to that boat. It was all done very meticulously and it�s definitely a showpiece. It�ll make Dryden proud.�

International Tugboat Race on the Detroit River June 19, 2010