Day Peckinpaugh

Early years

Day Peckinpaugh was built in 1921 by the McDougall-Duluth Shipyard in Duluth, Minnesota, the first boat specially designed and built for New York State Barge Canal, the successor to the famed Erie Canal. The ship was originally named ILI101 after the ship's first owner, the Interwaterways Lines Inc of New York City. The ship was the first specifically designed to ply the open waters of the Great Lakes as well as the narrow locks and shallow waterways of the barge canal. Day Peckinpaugh is also the last surviving ship from a fleet of more than 100 of her type that once carried freight from the upper Midwest to the port of New York City.

At a length of 259 ft and width of 36 ft, she is among the largest boats to operate on New York's canal system where the maximum area available for vessels in a lock is 300 ft long by 43.5 ft wide. With a 14 ft hold and a carrying capacity of 1650 t, Day Peckinpaugh was well suited as a bulk carrier in which she hauled wheat, flax seed, rye, sugar, and in the early years pig iron.

First renaming

ILI101 was rechristened Richard J. Barnes in 1922 to honor the man who originally commissioned the ship.

World War II service

During World War II, Richard J. Barnes was drafted into the US Merchant Marine to carry coal and refuel cargo ships along the east coast of the United States. During her Merchant Marine service Richard J. Barnes was attacked by a German U-boat which fired a torpedo at her; the torpedo was thought to have passed under the ship due to her shallow seven foot draft.

Second renaming

In 1958, the ship was sold to Erie Navigation and retrofitted to carry sand and gravel. The ship was again renamed, becoming Day Peckinpaugh, in honor of the man of the same name, brother of the New York Yankees player and manager, Roger Peckinpaugh.

Later service

The ship was converted to a self-unloading dry cement hauler in 1961 and used to carry cement from Oswego to Rome, New York until her retirement in 1994. Day Peckinpaugh was the last self-propelled regularly scheduled commercial hauler on the barge canal.

Restoration

In 2005 Day Peckinpaugh was saved from the scrap yard by a partnership of museums and canal preservation societies, and is undergoing extensive cleaning, painting, restoration and testing of her engines. More than $3 million has been pledged to restore and convert Day Peckinpaugh into a floating classroom and museum that will highlight the history and heritage of the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. In late 2011 the New York State Department of Education received a $191,000 grant to outfit Day Peckinpaugh to serve as a multi-regional educational facility.{{cite web | title = Canalway Communities to Share $1.5M in State Grants| url= http://readme.readmedia.com/Canalway-Communities-to-Share-1-5M-in-State-Grants/3153944

Attempted sinking

On March 8, 2010 Guy J. Pucci, a 35-year-old ex-state employee was arrested after almost completely sinking the ship while she was docked at Lock 2 of the Barge Canal undergoing restoration. Pucci went aboard the vessel and opened valves to flood the ship in an attempt to scuttle her. The ship sustained extensive damage due to the flooding, and repairs were estimated to be in excess of $10,000.

Pucci had worked aboard Day Peckinpaugh since July 2009, but his position as a maintenance assistant had been terminated February 25, 2010.

Current status

The ship was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. At the time of its listing, it was located at Lockport in Niagara County, New York, but its home base between trips and for maintenance is in Cohoes.

Day Peckinpaugh and the 1901 tugboat Urger, as still-functioning vessels, have become movable ambassadors of the New York State Barge Canal System.

As of 2018 it was considered a possible candidate for sinking as a reef due to maintenance costs.

In October of 2024 the Day Peckinpaugh was sold at auction by the New York State Education Department. They were the then owners but could no longer afford the $20,000.00 to $30,000.00 a year cost to just keep the Day Peckinpaugh from sinking. Pumps running constantly were keeping the boat afloat. The minimum bid level was $5,000.00. The Peckinpaugh highest bid was just $50.00. It sold for $5,050.00.

But the Day Peckinpaugh may still have another life. The purchaser is Capt. Dwayne Reith, owner of Custom Marine, Dobbs Ferry, Westchester County New York. Specializing in marine salvage and construction his company might just be able to save the Day Peckinpaugh. Keeping the boat afloat during its 150-mile journey from Erie Canal Lock #2 to Dobbs Ferry will be his first challenge.

Gallery

File:Day Peckinpaugh Docked Nov 05.jpg|Day Peckinpaugh docked at Waterford, New York (November 2005) File:Day Peckinpaugh Closeup Nov 05.jpg|Day Peckinpaugh closeup at Waterford, New York (November 2005)

References

• Jon Crispin's Day Peckinpaugh page

• Tugster's 100 anniversary blog entry for Day Peckinpaugh

Other websites

References

1. {{NRISref. 2009a
2. (March 10, 2010). "Former mate accused of trying to sink ship". Troy Record.
3. (May 18, 2007). "Grants Announced to Preserve Historic Shipyard and Canal Boat". New York State Education Department Office of Cultural Education (New York State Museum).
4. (June 6, 2008). "ERIE CANAL DISCOVERY: The ''Day Peckinpaugh'' freighter". Lockport Union Sun.
5. "Things to Do: About the Day Peckinpaugh". National Park Service/Erie Canal way Partnership.
6. "Day Peckinpaugh". Waterford Maritime Historical Society.
7. "Ongoing Exhibitions :: The Day Peckinpaugh". New York State Museum website.
8. (March 8, 2010). "Ex-state worker tried to sink historic ship". Times Union.
9. "2009 Legacy Voyage of the "Day Peckinpaugh"". www.eriecanalway.org.
10. Mark Peckham. (August 2005). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York SP DAY PECKINPAUGH, (canal motorship)". National Archives and Records Administration.
11. Grondahl, Paul. (2018-05-22). "Canal fans not ready to give up the ships".