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This Great Lakes Boat Blog is presented by Manistee Harbor Tours, operator of the Princess of Manistee. Book your cruise at www.manisteeharbortours.com.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
MANISTEE — The arrival of two of the oldest working government tugs on the Great Lakes has added an unusual maritime attraction to Manistee this spring.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tugs Racine and Kenosha recently tied up at the Rieth-Riley Construction Dock on Manistee Lake as part of the Corps’ $2 million harbor improvement project now underway at the Manistee Harbor federal channel. The project includes placing roughly 3,000 tons of armor, splash and scour stone along the harbor structures and replacing timber fenders near the U.S. Coast Guard station.
For Great Lakes boat-watchers, however, the real attraction may be the vessels themselves.
Kenosha
Both Racine and Kenosha belong to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Lake Michigan Floating Plant, a small but highly specialized fleet based primarily at Kewaunee, Wisconsin. The floating plant performs heavy marine construction work throughout the western Great Lakes, particularly stone placement and breakwater rehabilitation projects in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan harbors.
What makes the pair remarkable is their age.
The tug Racine was built in 1931 by Marine Iron & Shipbuilding Co. of Duluth, Minnesota, making her one of the oldest continuously operating government workboats on the Great Lakes. The steel-hulled tug measures approximately 66 feet in length with a beam of about 18 feet and a molded depth near 7 feet. Originally steam-powered, the vessel was later converted to diesel propulsion during mid-century modernization work, a common practice among Corps floating plant vessels that allowed older hulls to remain economically useful for decades.
Historical archives from the University of Wisconsin identify Racine among a fleet of Corps tugboats photographed in the early 1930s alongside the tugs Quintus, Muskegon and Barlow. Nearly a century after entering service, Racine remains active and still works seasonally on harbor construction projects around Lake Michigan. Recent federal dry dock solicitations confirm the vessel remains in operational service with the Chicago District floating plant fleet.
Kenosha represents a newer generation of Corps workboat construction, though “newer” is relative in this case. The tug was built in 1954 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and remains in active federal service after more than 70 years on the lakes. Kenosha, originally named U.S. Army ST-2011, was constructed as a diesel-powered steel harbor tug specifically designed for floating plant and harbor maintenance work.
The vessel measures approximately 70 feet in length with a beam of about 20 feet and a depth of roughly 9 feet. Kenosha is powered by twin diesel engines driving conventional screws, giving the tug the maneuverability needed to work in confined harbor entrances and around crane barges, stone scows and dredging equipment.
Though modest in appearance, both vessels are heavily built utility tugs designed for precision work rather than speed. Their duties include towing construction barges, positioning floating cranes, moving stone scows, handling buoys and assisting with breakwater and revetment construction.
During projects such as the current Manistee work, the tugs maneuver crane barges and stone scows into exact position while crews place armor stone weighing several tons apiece onto revetments and breakwaters. The work is slow, deliberate and highly specialized. Even modest wind or wave conditions can complicate operations in narrow harbor entrances like Manistee’s.
The current Manistee project focuses on strengthening harbor infrastructure that has taken repeated punishment from recent high-water cycles and increasingly severe Lake Michigan storms. The Corps is placing splash stone to reduce overtopping and wave energy along the north revetment, scour stone to protect against erosion beneath structures and armor stone at the south breakwater head.
Racine
For maritime enthusiasts, the sight of Racine and Kenosha together in Manistee is notable because vessels of this type rarely attract public attention despite doing essential work that keeps Great Lakes ports operational.
Manistee Harbor remains an important commercial port and harbor of refuge on eastern Lake Michigan. Recent Corps reports note the harbor supports millions of dollars in transportation-related business activity while accommodating commercial aggregate traffic, recreational boating and Coast Guard operations.
The Corps’ floating plant fleet is one of the least visible but most historically significant working fleets on the lakes. Unlike museum ships, Racine and Kenosha continue earning their keep exactly as intended — maintaining the harbor system that has supported Great Lakes commerce for generations.
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