OWNERSHIP HISTORY
This boat was fished for decades by the Currie and Vary families. Shaun Vary notes "Elmer Simpson bought her from Tiffins in 1962."
Wayne Currie notes (May 27, 2017): Steelcraft fished on Lake Erie. Both my family and Shaun Vary's family owned her over the years. I can't remember who my father and his brother bought it from. But it was in Kingsville at the time and would have been in the 70's.
My father George Currie and his Brother-in-Law Rick Sheeller owned it. Called it Currie-Sheeller fishery. Then later became Currie Bothers Fishery after Rick Sheeller sold out to My dad's brothers, Jim and Kevin.
Shaun Vary's grandfather bought it from our family and fished it. I think I went in the deal as I worked on it then. After that Gerry Rapchenkoff bought it, I believe. When our families owned it, it had a wooden top house on it. It was steel framed however. When Gerry bought it, I believe he had the aft part of the wooden tophouse replaced with steel so he could trawl for smelt.
The MNR has had a lot of work done to it. Good looking little vessel now."
Shaun Vary notes: She was fished on Georgian Bay prior to coming to Lake Erie. The MNR got her in one of the buy-outs (a program to eliminate commercial licenses on Lake Erie during the 1980's). She was rebuilt at Harry Gamble's yard in Port Dover for research, and is now based at Glenora. Wayne Currie and Terry Hagin came with the boat when Gramps got her.
Wayne Currie notes (Mar. 30, 2020): "Steelcraft was up in Erieau. Not sure what year it arrived there or for how long. But my Dad and Uncle bought it from someone up in Kingsville, likely around 1974-75 ish. If I remember right they got a twine shanty, the land it was on and an Essex license all for $11,000 or $12,000. Later sold the shanty and land if it wasn’t leased, as well as the license."
And Clancy Fuller responded: "Elmer Simpson owned the Steelcraft for awhile then sold her to another gentleman but I can't remember his name then sold her to your Dad and Uncle (the Curries). I think she came to Kingsville in the late 60's early 70's. She docked across from us when we had the TRIAD."
John Fraser Pringle owned it just before the MNR and "until Allen Pope took her and my livelihood." John Fraser Pringle comments (Nov. 27, 2019): "Grant Chambers and Terry Hagin owned the Tri Mac 2 and were in the middle of buying the Steelcraft from (I believe) the Vary family, when Gerry (my father-in-law) bought out their fisheries licenses for the two boats Tri Mac 2 and the Steelcraft. I ran the Tri Mac and Gerry ran the Steelcraft. We sold the Tri Mac to Ralf Fralick in 1983 and had the planned to have the Steelcraft rebuilt by Gary Misner. But then the MNR dropped the bomb that they were going to go by past performance of the licence, not by the fisherman who actually caught fish and screwed me and my father-in-law.
We had already repowered the Steelcraft with a 671 4 valve head and bigger blower for dragging, and put a steel house on the stern. We fished her hard gill-netting and trawling. They took her for way less that what we put into her and destroyed the licence, which I still have. There was no legal way we could win without bankrupting us. If we had kept on fishing they would haved seized the boat and all we owned, nets and shanty. I continued to fish and buy more tugs until 2017 running the Merry Gale 2."
1988 Gamble yard at Port Dover. Shaun Vary photo courtesy Gerry Ouderkirk.
Sept. 21, 1993 at Glenora. Photo courtesy Gerry Ouderkirk. GAO notes: at the Fisheries station beside the Glenora/Adolphustown ferry landing. The fish tug behind her is NAYMAYCUSH.
Nov. 19th, 2001 at Point Anne. Photo courtesy Gerry Ouderkirk.
Nov. 19th, 2001 at Point Anne. Photo courtesy Gerry Ouderkirk.
Shaun Vary notes: Here is a model of the Steelcraft that I built several years ago. It is in my own collection. The model is waterline, and mostly constructed of bristol board. I started out at a very young age building model fish tugs out of cigarette packages. I later switched to bristol board, which was much easier. I can no longer purchase the proper grade of bristol board to build these type of models. I have switched to wood, plastic, and other materials as my main medium.
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