SOLD – 62′ 1897 Tugboat Email Listing to a Friend

(Was $180,000)
Built in 1897 by Steven Barbare in Tacoma Washington, WALLACE FOSS is an outstanding example of American workboat history. Any internet search will bring up hundreds of pictures and information about her. In 2019 she received a significant refit including all new paint, inside and out. All systems have been restored to operating condition, and this includes a full electronics upgrade. After a full driveline service and yard period she cruised New England waters from Newport to Maine without and problem, turning heads in every port. One of the last wooden tugs in the US, you won’t find another vessel of this age in better condition.

WALLACE FOSS once led a charmed, if hard, working life in the Pacific Northwest. Before she was launched and partway through construction, Blekum Towing Company modified the original passenger vessel design to that of a tugboat. Originally christened as OSCAR B. in 1897 at Tacoma, WA, today the tug carries the name WALLACE FOSS and is berthed in New England.

By 1913, as OSCAR B. she was already a tired ship and had been beached along the Snohomish River in Everett, WA. Good fortune brought her to the attention of Seattle’s Rouse Towing Company, which bought and restored her, replacing her original steam engine in the process. Then, in 1920, the Rouse Towing Company was purchased by Foss Maritime, which changed the name to WALLACE FOSS. (The company named its boats after family members; Wallace was a grandnephew.)

For the next 52 years, WALLACE FOSS towed barges and logs around Puget Sound, Hood Canal, and the San Juan Islands. She was well maintained along the way; a new pilothouse was added in 1949 and a new diesel engine was installed in 1960. She worked hard as a tug until 1972 when she was retired. After retirement, she was restored and upgraded by successive owners, somehow always dodging the scrap yard.

She is 62 feet in length and measures 16 feet 6 inches in beam. She has recently received a full overhaul including fresh paint inside and out and all systems brought up to running and serviceable condition. Her Caterpillar diesel has 2,800 hours; she also carries a Yanmar genset in her large, stand-up engine room. Although her machinery and modern electronics have been continually updated, she has retained her classic lines and historic aura, which have won her numerous best-in-show awards at classic boat gatherings.

Today, the tugboat’s interior is more about comfort than hard work. A nicely appointed settee is the centerpiece of the deckhouse salon, while a fully equipped galley and a diesel/propane stove provide everything needed to turn out hearty meals. Belowdecks bunks accommodates six persons and her prominent pilothouse offers 360-degree views.

Eight years ago she was relocated to New England from the Pacific Northwest where she’d spent her entire life. She is ready for the next phase as a posh cruiser, exploring the waters of a new coastline.

Particulars
Builder: Steven Barbare, Tacoma Washington
62’ LOA
16’6” Beam
8′ Draft

Construction
2 1/2” thick Douglas-fir planking on 6×6 double-sawn frames with a full 2 1/2” thick ceiling inside.
2 1/2” laid fir deck.
She has had major structural work done over the years to insure she stands the test of time.

Machinery
D13000 Caterpillar 6 cylinder diesel engine with 2,800 hours on it since major overhaul
25-hp “pony” engine
12v and 32v alternators
PTO-driven hydraulics for anchor windlass
Shaft pulled for inspection in 2019
54” bronze propeller reconditioned and balanced in 2019
Cruise RO watermaker
10kW Yanmar genset with new alternator end
Yanmar hydraulic power pack for Wesmar bow and stern thrusters
Hydraulic windlass with capstan and chain gypsy
Anchor rode: 200’ of 3/4 stud link chain
Danforth type anchor

Domestic
32v and 12v battery banks
12v charger
32v inverter/charger
Vitifrigo front opening refrigerator
Diesel/propane cookstove
HeadHunter water pressure pump
GalleyMaid sewage/ drain flush pump
HeadHunter push-button flush toilet
5 gallon hot water heater

Electronics (in pilothouse)
Full electronics upgrade in 2019
Furuno wireless radar
Wireless chart plotter
Nmea 2000 VHF w/AIS
Nmea2000 BandG g100 compass/gps
Nmea2000 Airmar speed/temp/depth sensor
NEMA 2000 backbone from engine room to pilot house
32v searchlight
Air whistle and horn
Hydraulic steering

Tankage
170 gallons of water in four tanks
1500 gallons of fuel in two tanks
35 gallon sewage tank
Gravity feed diesel/gasoline tanks on upper deck for pony motor and diesel stove

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