ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 11, 1996 TAG: 9607110082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS
SOURCE: TED HATTORI (NEWPORT NEWS) DAILY PRESS
THE HUNTINGTON pushed around the likes of the Queen Elizabeth II and the John F. Kennedy in its day. Now it's being restored as a museum.
The Huntington, a sturdy tugboat that pushed ships around for Newport News Shipbuilding for nearly six decades, is on its way to a new career.
It's being restored as a tugboat museum and bed-and-breakfast. When the work is finished, the 300-ton historic tugboat will be towed to Nauticus in Norfolk and opened as a waterfront attraction.
Named after shipyard founder Collis P. Huntington, the tug was built in 1933 by shipyard apprentices as a yard tug and fireboat. Tommy Bishop, tug master of the yard, recalls the Huntington was ``a showpiece of a tug.''
``The Huntington was a really big, powerful and heavy tug at that time. Actually she was the finest boat in all of Hampton Roads. She was the queen of the harbor,'' Bishop said.
However, at 1,200-horsepower, the Huntington is no match for today's 4,000 to 5,000-horsepower tugs.
After working for nearly 40 years, the Huntington became a backup or assistant tug in 1975. It was sold to the Bay Towing Co. in Norfolk in 1992, and was one of the busiest tugs in Norfolk harbor until early 1995 when it was retired.
According to Bishop, the Huntington pushed more than 30,000 ships in its career. The busiest period was during World War II, when the Huntington frequently pushed to and from the docks the troop ships and cargo carriers traveling with the Atlantic convoys to Europe.
Other vessels guided by the Huntington include the Queen Elizabeth II, the aircraft carriers Essex, Yorktown, Enterprise and John F. Kennedy, and every nuclear-powered submarine the yard launched before 1992.
``As her height is low, and beam is wide, she could go up underneath the flare of the big ships without hitting her overhead,'' Bishop says.
The Huntington was originally powered by a steam engine with coal-fired boilers. Later, oil replaced the coal. In 1952, the tug was equipped with a 1,200-horsepower diesel engine.
Bishop, who entered the yard after he graduated from Ferguson High School in 1964, says he worked seven days a week on the Huntington. The crew of five included a docking pilot, assistant docking pilot, mate, chief engineer, and deck hand.
``The crew was just like a family. The Huntington was our home. We stayed seven nights a week on board, and we cooked meals on the boat. We had some of the best cooks,'' Bishop says. ``We often cooked clam chowder and crab cakes.''
Brook Smith, principal owner of the Huntington and president of Rover Marine in Norfolk, says people love tugboats. ``They like tugboats' power and how they look,'' he says. ``Children always want to see them.''
Smith plans to restore 75 percent of the Huntington to its original 1933 condition. It is too expensive to restore the other 25 percent, including the engine, so plans are simply to clean it.
The museum will feature exhibits about the history and types of tugboats and what they do. The Huntington will be the centerpiece of the museum.
When Smith found out the Huntington was available for sale, he came up with the museum plan. Then he worked with the city of Norfolk on an agreement to keep the Huntington at the Nauticus pier.
The boat may be used as a small bed and breakfast and for dockside receptions. Eventually cruises might be offered after a replacement small engine is installed. ``Two hundred to 300 people can be aboard,'' Smith says. ``We'll have retired tug captains and engineers as tour guides.''
The restoration work will be done by late July, and the museum will open to the public in early September. Smith estimates the tug will draw 40,000 visitors the first year.
``I am very excited about the Huntington's potential in terms of the ability to attract more people to our waterfront area,'' says Sterling Cheatham, assistant city manager of Norfolk. ``It will have a unique synergy with our Nauticus facility in terms of total maritime experience.''
Bishop said he is looking forward to seeing the updated Huntington. ``I bet I'll visit my old home.''
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP The tugboat Huntington, built in 1933, is beingby CNBrestored as a museum. When the work is done the vessel will be towed
to Norfolk.|