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San Francisco Maritime National Historical ParkAn image of the Voyages exhibit in the visitor center.
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San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Hercules
 
The steam tug Hercules, built in 1907, navigating on San Francisco Bay.
The steam tug Hercules, built in 1907, navigating on San Francisco Bay.
 

STATS

 

Length

151 feet

Fuel type

Bunker C

Beam

26 feet

Draft

18 feet aft, 10 feet forward

Gross tonnage

409

Engine

3 cylinder, triple expansion

Cylinders

17", 24", and 41" with 30" stroke. 500 Indicated Horsepower(ihp)

Boiler 

Scotch marine fire tube. 16' diameter, 11’9" long. Four, oil-burning furnaces



 
  • Hercules is a steam powered tug built for ocean towing
  • The 151-foot ship, of riveted steel construction, still contains her original triple expansion steam engine
  • Built on the East Coast in 1907, she towed her sister ship from Camden, New Jersey around South America to San Francisco
  • Hercules also towed sailing ships, disabled vessels, barges, log rafts, a cassion (a steel structure used for closing the entrance to locks) for a dry dock at Pearl Harbor, and a cassion to help build a Panama Canal lock
  • The tug usually carried a crew of three firemen, three oilmen, a chief and two assistant engineers, three deckhands, cook, two mates and a captain
 
 
The 1907 steam tug Hercules.
Hercules
1907 steam tug
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Historic photo of a baby girl, Inda-Francis, who was born on the Balclutha.  

Did You Know?
See the captain’s quarters on the square-rigged ship Balclutha where Inda-Francis Durkee was born at sea, during a voyage from Calcutta, India, to San Francisco. She was the daughter of Captain and Mrs. Alice Durkee. Alfred Durkee was master of the Balclutha from 1894-1899.
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Last Updated: August 01, 2007 at 12:37 EST