The Fleet

The goal of the Northeastern Maritime Historical Foundation is to assemble a first-rate collection of historically significant commercial vessels for preservation and display on the Great Lakes. Candidates for the collection range from large steam powered freighters and big old dredges to small fish tugs and towing tugs. Their significance is determined by several characteristics; for example, one may be of interest as the first of her kind, last of her kind, a particularly rare specimen, or an excellent example of a once-common class.

The first vessel to join the collection is the 1908 tug Mount McKay, donated to us in 2003. Other highlights of our growing museum fleet include the last steam-powered “G-tug” Q.A. Gillmore, the 1892-vintage Islay, originally built as the yard tug for Alexander McDougall’s American Steel Barge Company (builders of the famed “whaleback” vessels), and the classic 1929-vintage Great Lakes fish tug Jane. At present we are actively pursuing several other acquisitions, to be announced as details become available.

Click on the links below to learn more about these historic vessels.

The NMHF Permanent Collection:

• Mount McKay - 1908 tug
• Snohomish WYTM 98 - 1943 Coast Guard tug
• Q.A. Gillmore - 1913 steam tug
• Jane - 1929 fish tug
• Spirit of Algoma - 27-foot steam tug
• Islay - 1892 shipyard tug

Donated for fundraising purposes:

• Spar WLB 403 - 1944 buoy tender
• Titan - 1909 tug

Gone but not forgotten:

• Lewis G. Harriman - 1923 steam freighter

For more information, e-mail us at contact@northeasternmaritime.org or visit our Support NMHF page to find out more about how you can help.