The W.S. CARKIN was a wooden canal tug (towboat) that was built in 1874 in East Saginaw, Michigan, by Chesley Wheeler. It had a length of 69.7 feet, a beam of 16 feet, and a depth of 6.4 feet. The tug had a gross tonnage of 29.44 tons and a net tonnage of 14.72 tons. It was powered by a single screw propulsion system, driven by a 1-cylinder engine. The vessel had one deck.
The tug was initially owned by R.J. Cram of East Saginaw, Michigan, and it was enrolled in Port Huron, Michigan, on November 11, 1875. On March 24, 1887, ownership of the tug was transferred to L.L. Johnson. Unfortunately, on November 23, 1887, the W.S. CARKIN was wrecked near Presque Isle, Michigan, in Lake Huron. The vessel struck a reef during heavy weather and was lost.
The wrecked tug’s enrollment was surrendered on March 31, 1888, in Port Huron, with the notation “stranded, total loss.”
The W.S. CARKIN was later renamed P.B. McNAUGHTON, after its new owner Pliny B. McNaughton, in 1896. Built in 1888 by C. Stickney at East Saginaw, Michigan, it had a gross tonnage of 63.87 tons and a net tonnage of 31.94 tons, with a length of 77.2 feet. The tug was equipped with a compound engine that generated 10 indicated horsepower and 11 rated horsepower. In 1916, the vessel was transferred to Canadian registry under the ownership of C.E. Millard of Sarnia, Ontario. It collided with a barge in the Bay of Quinte, near the Murray Canal entrance, on November 7, 1916, while on a voyage from Port Dalhousie to Kingston. The damage from the collision was minor.
In 1918, the Montreal Transportation Co. purchased the P.B. McNAUGHTON for $10,500. However, they sold it to the Harrigan Tug Line in 1921 as part of a package that included the tugs ALERT and ESCORT, for $15,000. The tug was then renamed JOSEPH H. in 1922 under the ownership of the Harrigan Tug Line. Tragically, on December 5, 1924, the JOSEPH H. and another small tug, HOME RULE, were wrecked near Port Colborne when they were pushed against a reef by the bulk carrier MIDLAND PRINCE (C 116669, 6,636 tons gross).
Throughout its history, the information about the W.S. CARKIN, later P.B. McNAUGHTON and JOSEPH H., is derived from various sources such as Montreal Transportation Co. annual reports and directors’ minutes, ship logs, maritime databases, and historical records.
