Hercules

The steam tug HERCULES, built in 1907, navigating on San Francisco Bay.

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HERCULES Statistics

Length	151 feet
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)
Fuel Type	Oil Fuel
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 caisson 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

 

Click here for more Hercules information.

 

Photos, text, and maps from a 2008 exhibit about Hercules.

 

Xplore Timelooper App - Hercules Steam Tug

Xplore Timelooper

Xplore Hercules Steam Tug

Come explore the Post-Victorian wonderland of steel and steam aboard this 1907 tugboat with the free Xplore Timelooper App.