Boat Name
Chippewa
Dimensions
LOA: 83 ft 0 in
Beam: 20 ft 0 in
Engines
Total Power: 375 HP
Engine 1:
Engine Brand: Washington
Year Built: 1943
Engine Model: 3160
Engine Type: Inboard
Engine/Fuel Type: Diesel
Propeller: 3 blade propeller
Drive Type: Direct Drive
Engine Power: 375 HP
Cruising Speed: 9 knots @ 268 RPM
Accommodations
Number of heads: 2
Additional Information
Description:
The Chippewa is a former working tugboat that has been totally renovated and converted as a pleasure cruising vessel. She is massively built, powered by a single Washington Diesel engine, with a well-built and spacious wheelhouse forward, pleasant cabins for crew and guests, and a warm galley and main salon area, with wide-open aft deck for line handling. Chippewa was extensively refastened and has had many of her original planks replaced over the years. She has been owned for many years by men of vast engineering, boat handling and vessel maintenance experience.
History:
The Chippewa originally was the first of three identical Navy tugs built in 1943 by Horace McCurdy's Seattle-based Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company. Numbered by the Navy (YTB-361) and designed by LG Coolidge and Ed Monk Sr., it is a 2/3 scale of the classic 'miki' tug, memorable for their aesthetics. Its original purpose was to monitor Puget Sound during WWII.
Following 17 years in the Navy, in 1960 she was wold to FOSS and became the ROLAND, towing between Seattle and SE Alaska.
In 1976, she was sold to a private towing company out of Longbranch, WA and became the CHIPPEWA, towing mainly in Alaska. When not towing in Alaska, the CHIPPEWA was berthed at Longbranch in southern Puget Sound, doubling as a family yacht.
In 1996, "Buzz" Dana purchased the Chippewa and began a very complete restoration, giving her the family name the DONALD R. This was the third tug restoration by Buzz, including previously the restoration of the WALLACE. The initial restoration of Chippewa was done over approximately 5 years.
The first year, the wheelhouse was extended and initial hull work begun. Over the next several years, it underwent a major refit and rebuild by the Bekketun & Thomas Boat Company in Ballard, WA including:
- New aft deck beams and decking, from the main house aft
- Entire deck re-caulked and decking replaced as needed
- All new covering boards, stem to stern
- Replaced entire horse shoe combinations
- Complete new bulwarks, manufactured out of aluminum plate
- All new sponsons and guards
- All new bulwark caps
- Rebuilt deck houses
Also completed at FVO in Ballard, WA:
- Removal of all iron bank sheathing and repair/re-caulk planks
- New gum wood bow stem, stem iron, and fastenings
- New planking near and around stern
- Re-caulk entire hull as needed
- Installation of new stainless steel hawse pipe
- New stern bearing and tail shaft (inspection and re-glass)
- Straighten and pitch propeller
- New keel cooler
- Repaint hull and topside
- Complete rebuild of new engine
- Clean and inspect fuel tanks
- New steering chain aft
- New 8 KW and 16 KW gen sets
- New bilge pumps - aft midship and forward compartments
- Clean and flush bilges and limbers
- 600 feet of new galvanized chain and re-galvanized navy anchor (600 pounds)
The DONALD R was then launched in 2001 and Buzz continued the refit project at his home on Lake Washington, near Seattle, where the tug was moored. The continuing refit included new interiors, wiring/electronics, and final safety aspects.
The current owner took over in 2014 and returned the tug to the previous name CHIPPEWA. He has moored it in Everett, WA in Puget Sound north of Seattle. Her end-tie slip in the Everett Marina North Basin can potentially remain in place with a new owner, per Everett Marina policy. The current owner has continued to restore and maintain the CHIPPEWA, having been in the boat building industry for decades. Added improvements include:
- Refit of foc'sle, removing two forward fuel tanks, creating another stateroom
- New Achilles tender
- 50' of guard rail/sponsons on starboard side replaced
- All new navigation electronics on bridge, replacing older units
- Engine room circuit breaker and fuse panel wiring inspected and simplified. Old wires, fuses and breakers removed.
Given the CHIPPEWA's Navy beginnings, there are many spare parts, including engine parts.
Ship's Particulars:
Builder: Seattle WA based Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging
LOA: 83 feet
Beam: 20 feet
Draft: 10 feet
Construction:
3 inch Fir planking on 10" x 10" Fir frames
2-1/2 inch laid Fir and Yellow Cedar decking
Stem is Australian Gum
Machinery:
A single Washington Diesel, Model 3160 - six cylinder, keel-cooled diesel engine built by Washington Iron Works in Seattle
12.75 inch bore, 16-inch stroke
Direct reversing 375 HP @ 325 RMP, coupled to a 9" shaft and a 66" x 47" three-blade bronze propeller
Cruise at 268 RPM, making 9.2 knots, burning 9 GPH
Generators:
- Generator #1: Northern Lights 16 KW diesel with sound cover
- Generator #2: Northern Lights 8 KW diesel with sound cover
- Generator #3: Lister 5 KW air-cooled diesel
Watermaker: Village Marine reverse osmosis system
Anchor rode: 600' of 3/4" galvanized chain
Anchor: 600-pound Navy anchor
Domestic:
- 120 Volt Battery banks and 12 Volt Battery Banks
- 208 Volt ARE Charger
- Inverter: Exceltech 120 Volt
- Full-size Refrigerator
- New GE electric 220 Volt Stove
- New 16-gallon electric water ank
- Two toilets, one shower, one tub
- Hot water boiler radiators throughout the boat and engine circuit
- Washer/dryer
- Icemaker
- Full-size chest freezer
Electronics in Pilothouse:
- VHF Radio: Garmin & Fleet FM
- Depth Sounder: Ross Model T-6000 flasher type
- Compass: LAS 8" magnetic compass with compensating balls
- GPS/Chart Plotter/Radar/Depth Sounder/AIS: Garmin GPS Map XSV MFD
- Autopilot: Simrad AP35
Tankage:
- 1,000 gallons of fresh water
- 4,000 gallons of fuel in each of two tanks (8,000 gallons total)
- 140-gallon sewage holding tank
For more photos and videos, please visit www.tugchippew or on Facebook Chippewa.
