Essayons

Been reading about the history of the Duluth-Superior harbor for the past few days, which sent me looking for photos. This one dates from 1990 and shows tug Essayons at, I think, the Bunge Dock on Duluth's Rice Point. I shot it from the harbor tour boat with a cheap point-&-shoot camera.

Essayons was originally Corps of Engineers tug, as her name suggests (that name's the Corps' slogan, which can be translated "Let us try.") The vessel was later sold to Zenith Dredge, and later yet to a private owner who planned to convert her into a waterborne B&B. Since I've not been able to find dates for those transactions, I'm not sure who owned her when the photo was taken.

In the late 70s she was converted from steam to diesel power. Her old powerplant is on display at the Duluth Marine Museum, the installation of which is discussed here.

A couple years ago she sank in this slip at the age of 101 years. This was her second sinking, I'm told, and the third major mishap of her career. When we visited Duluth in 2009 all that was visible was the top of her cabin and most of the stack.