The James A. Walker was a tugboat registered in Canada, with the official number 92383. It was located in Kingston, Ontario. The vessel was registered on June 1887, with the registration date being November 11, 1887. Built by John Gaskin in Kingston, Ontario, in 1887, the tugboat had a length of 105.60 feet, a width of 19.80 feet, and a depth of 9.60 feet. Its gross tonnage was 183.58, and its net tonnage was 98.16.
The James A. Walker had a single deck and a carvel type of hull with a round stern. It had no gallery or figure. The hull was made of wood, and the propulsion was provided by a steam screw. The tugboat was equipped with one fore and aft compound engine with a horsepower of 150.00, manufactured by The Canadian Locomotive and Engine Company in Kingston, Ontario. It had one mast and no rigging.
Unfortunately, on October 22, 1898, the James A. Walker sank approximately 100 yards off Nicholson Island in Lake Ontario. It was towing the barges KILDONAN and HECTOR at the time of the incident. Both barges stranded, and one life was lost from the HECTOR. The James A. Walker and the barges were en route from Charlotte, New York, to Kingston, Ontario, carrying coal.
The vessel’s registration was closed on January 30, 1900, with the reason for closure being the foundering of the tugboat. The owners reported that the engine had been removed, and the hull had been cut up, rendering the vessel practically a total loss.
Various news articles provide additional information about the James A. Walker. It was a new tugboat added to the fleet of the Montreal Transportation Company, costing $3,000. The vessel was known for its powerful fore and aft compound engine, the first of its kind built in Kingston. The tugboat featured a wooden frame reinforced with a steel keelson and steel straps outside the frame. Efforts were made by the Donnelly Wrecking & Salvage Co. to locate the wreck of the James A. Walker near Nicholson’s Island, where they discovered the wreck of the steamer ZEALAND, lost approximately twenty years prior. The tugboat was eventually salvaged and towed to Kingston by the Donnelly Wrecking & Salvage Co. using the schooner GRANTHAM as a pontoon.
