The tug McArthur was built in 1877 at Portsmouth, Ontario, by George Chaffey & Brothers. It was constructed as a wooden-hulled tug (or towboat) for the Collins Bay Rafting Co. in Kingston, Ontario. The vessel had a length of 103 feet, a beam of 24.6 feet, and a depth of 8.1 feet. It had a gross tonnage of 169 and a net tonnage of 77. The McArthur was powered by a single screw propulsion system.
On April 25, 1890, tragedy struck when the McArthur caught fire and burned to the water’s edge. The incident occurred in Collins Bay, approximately eight miles west of Kingston, Ontario, on Lake Ontario. The tug had just completed the task of raising machinery from the wreck of the steamer Armstrong before the fire broke out. The machinery, valued at $25,000, was lost in the blaze. The principal owner of the McArthur, W. Leslie, suffered a significant financial loss due to the fire. The tug was insured, but the machinery was not. The McArthur itself had an estimated value of $15,000 to $18,000.
Following the fire, the wreck of the McArthur was taken to Davis Dry-dock, where the shaft, wheels, and other machinery were removed. There were plans to potentially convert the hull into a barge. Subsequently, the machinery was transported to Collins Bay by the schooner Philo Bennett. It was intended for use in the construction of a new steel tug by the Collins Bay Rafting Company during the winter.
The McArthur’s unfortunate fate marked the end of its service as a tug, but its legacy lived on through the salvaged machinery and its contribution to the construction of a new vessel
