The Husky, First Boat for Upper Mississippi Towing

While the large steam sternwheel Jack Rathbone was under construction at the Marietta Manufacturing Company at Point Pleasant, W.Va., in 1937, a small diesel towboat was also being built at Paducah, Ky. Though tiny in comparison to the steam “giants” of the day, the boat would merit a lot of attention in the coming issues of The Waterways Journal.

The vessel was first mentioned in the Paducah news column in the July 3, 1937, issue of the WJ. The story was headlined “Largest Diesel Boat Ever Built at Paducah, 700 H.P., Nears Completion.” This particular column was authored by Donald T. Wright, the owner and publisher of The Waterways Journal since 1921. A note on page 3 of  the issue said that Wright had been absent from St. Louis since June 22, first visiting Paducah and then to travel to New Orleans and Mobile on one of his news-finding jaunts.

The column story said, “The largest diesel towboat or diesel boat of any kind ever built at Paducah, Ky., should be launched and ready for the owners, the Upper Mississippi Towing Company, Minneapolis on or by August 1. The vessel, named Husky, is being built by the F.W. Olcott Machine Works.” It went on to describe the boat as “all steel, and 90 by 22 feet and to draw 48 inches, it will be twin screw and powered by two Superior engines, each of 350 hp., that arrived in Paducah last week from the Superior Engine Division, National Supply Company, Springfield, Ohio.”

Wright went on to describe the unusual hull design of the new Husky. “For want of a better description it may be said that the Husky has a triple catamaran hull rather than two tunnels. Fred  W. Olcott, the designer of this innovation, says the Husky will be a good backer because the water will have somewhere to go. The hull starts back from the bow full width, but quickly breaks up into three parts. The outcome will be awaited with great interest.”

The Olcott firm was involved in the marine industry at Paducah for some years, and would go on to build other, larger boats. Upper Mississippi Towing “Company,” mentioned as owners of the new boat, was established as Upper Mississippi Towing Corporation (UMTC). It had been formed in 1937 as an offshoot of the Western Oil & Fuel Company of Minneapolis, which had been founded by H.M. Baskerville Sr. and his brother, W.G. Baskerville Sr., in 1926. The purpose of the new towing concern was to transport petroleum products from Wood River, Ill., to the Minneapolis area. The Husky was the first boat that they acquired for this purpose.

The Husky was in the news again in the October 23, 1937, WJ, with mention of it appearing on pages 13, 14 and 15. The first piece, headlined “Husky Lives Up To Name,” stated that the new boat had “recently made her maiden trip from Paducah toward Minneapolis, Minn., pushing four barges with 3,000 tons of cargo at better than three miles an hour upstream.” It went on to give details of the hull size and engines installed and said the boat “has excited considerable comment due to its unusual towing power and ease of handling.”

The Upper Mississippi news column on page 14, authored by C.W. Stoll (later Capt. C.W. Stoll, long associated with the str. Belle of Louisville) said, “The new towboat Husky, with a tow of gasoline consigned to the Western Oil & Fuel Company, Minneapolis, arrived there Wednesday of last week. … Four barges of gas were pushed up the Mississippi by the new diesel powered, tunnel screw propeller towboat in what was called the first private navigation venture in oil towing into Minneapolis.” Stoll went on to say that that fact was “believed, however, to be wrong” since two other boats, the Aqila and City of Helena, had been towing gasoline to points on the Upper, including the Twin Cities. He also said that several other tows of petroleum products were scheduled for both Western Oil & Fuel and the Pure Oil Company before the end of the season.

Finally, in a small paragraph at the bottom of page 15, it was told that the Husky had left Minneapolis at 2 a.m. on October 14, and had arrived at Wood River at 5 p.m. on the 20th to load gasoline. “Due to the successful first trip, G.M. Peppard, president of Upper Mississippi Towing Corporation, owners of the Husky, told The Waterways Journal the firm contemplates building a second diesel towboat of equal or greater horsepower.” This Husky would come to be known as Husky I (though the official name remained simply Husky), as UMTC later purchased two other vessels which they named Husky II and Husky III, respectively.

The Husky was a faithful workhorse for UMTC for more than 10 years. In 1940, UMTC purchased the 300 hp. wood hull towboat Robert E. Lies specifically to help the Husky in double tripping. In 1946, the Husky had a pair of kort nozzles installed at St. Louis Shipbuilding and Steel Company. A published history of UMTC/Riverway claimed that the nozzles increased thrust so much that the boat then made better than two round trips monthly between Wood River and Minneapolis, and no longer needed to double trip. After this the Robert E. Lies was sold to Igert Inc., Paducah. In addition to the regular run, the boat would occasionally go to Baton Rouge for loadings. Capt. Paul T. “Whitey” Rose was master, with W. T. McCullogh, mate, and Harley Wallace and A. L. Holston, engineers.

In May 1948, the Husky was sold to Canton Towing Company, Canton, Mo. At this time the innovative boat that had helped give birth to UMTC (which would become a major barge line) was only 11 years old, but it would continue in existence for another 67 years. We will look at the remainder of its history in the next column.

Caption for top photo: The Husky in service for Upper Mississippi Towing Corporation. (Dan Owen Boat Photo Museum collection)

Capt. David Smith can be contacted at davidsmith1955obc@gmail.com.