The William Rest was a tugboat built for the Toronto Harbour Commission in 1961 for $150,000 CAD.[1] She was built in Erieau, Ontario by the Erieau Shipbuilding and Drydock Limited.[2] She displaced 61 gross tons. She was named after the commission's recently deceased director of planning.[3][4][5] Rest had worked for the Commission for 46 years.
She was powered by a Caterpillar 379D which could supply 560 horsepower (420 kW).[6]
In 1975 the tugs William Rest, the Lac Como, the G.W. Rogers and the Bagotville tried to free the lake freighter George M. Carl.[7]
The Toronto Harbour Commission occasionally employs the William Rest to break ice on the lower Don River.[8]
Port authorities retired the William Rest when they commissioned its replacement, the Iron Guppy, in the summer of 2016.[9][10] William Rest was acquired by Galcon Marine Limited,[11] but it has not been in active use since 2016. In November 2022, the tug was seen being torn up for scrap on the Galcon Marine premises.
References edit
- ^ Arthur Brydon (October 2, 1961). "$'150,000 Toronto Tug Launched at Erieau Honors THC Veteran". Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
- ^ "Commercial Tugs (> 50 ft.) Built in Canada Since WWII". Shipbuilding History. February 14, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
- ^
Mike Filey (July 23, 2016). "Meet the 'Iron Guppy': The past and future of Toronto's waterfront tugs and fireboats". Toronto Sun. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
Ports Toronto's new tug "Iron Guppy" (or perhaps pronounced a more sophisticated "Eeron Goopay") is the most recent in a succession work boats that over the years did yeoman service in and around our harbour.
- ^ Mike Filey (June 2, 2002). "Toronto Sketches 8: The Way We Were". Dundurn. p. 248. ISBN 9781554880324. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
- ^
Mike Filey (April 1, 1998). "Discover & Explore Toronto's Waterfront: A Walker's, Jogger's, Cyclist's, Boater's Guide to Toronto's Lakeside Sites and History". Dundurn. p. 125. ISBN 9781550023046. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
The Toronto Harbour Commission (THC) tug William Rest was launched at Erieau, Ontario in 1961 and is named for a long-time Commission employee. Bill Rest joined the THC in 1915 and died in 1961 shortly after being appointed to the position of Director of Planning.
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Peter Kuitenbrouwer (July 30, 2011). "Old hands keep the Don flowing smoothly". National Post. Archived from the original on May 23, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
Above the growl of the tugboat's Cat 379D, 560 horsepower engine, Capt. Celik, on this steamy Friday, wants the attention of Anthony Restivo, deck hand on the William Rest. Mr. Restivo is standing at the stern, holding a line tied to the bollard of a scow full of muck, to which the tug is lashed, with the aim of hauling said scow (a kind of barge containing a row of huge buckets) out of the Keating Channel and into deepest Lake Ontario.
- ^ "Tugs Lac Como, William Rest, G.W. Rogers and Bagotvilee tried to free George M. Carl". Maritime history of the Great Lakes. December 27, 1975. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
- ^
Nicolaas van Rijn (February 23, 1993). "Metro digs out ... but snowbanks will be here a while". Toronto Star. p. A.6. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
tugboat William Rest breaks ice in the Don River to prevent flooding upstream
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"Scraping the bottom of the channel". Jon Lamont. March 1, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
The William Rest tugboat has been on the fritz. To continue dredging, PortsToronto had to contract out another tugboat. Come June, the contracting will end when the new Iron Guppy tug arrives, with a $3 million price tag, to replace the ailing William Rest.
- ^
Casey Conley (June 29, 2016). "Tugboat roundup". Professional Mariner. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
The single-screw icebreaking tugboat William Rest has operated from the Port of Toronto since the early 1960s, but its long tenure is coming to an end. Iron Guppy, a single-screw tug, will replace the venerable vessel in summer 2016.
- ^ "REST, WILLIAM - Historical Collections of the Great Lakes".