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The Tug Granthall

by John MacFarlane 2022

The Tug Granthall (Photo from the John MacFarlane collection.)

The tug Granthall (ON 154663) was built in 1928 in Montreal QC Canada by the Canadian Vickers Ltd. and assembled in Nelson BC. (G.N. Transporter 1970c) She was 92.0’ x 24.1’ x 10.0’ (31.18m x 7.38m x 3.14m) steel hulled 164.16gt 54.58rt and powered by a 61.66nhp triple expansion steam engine by National Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Goderich ON. In 1979c her engine was removed and she became a non–powered barge.

The Tug Granthall (Photo from the John MacFarlane collection.)

In 1928–1958 she was owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Co., Montreal QC. In 1958–1965 she was owned by John Manly Ltd., New Westminster BC. In 1965 she was owned by Ray Wilson Bradley (MO), Edmonton AB. In 1965–1968 she was owned by Mardell Ltd., Edmonton AB. In 1968–1984 she was owned by Francis Millerd and Co. Ltd., Vancouver BC. In 1985–2022 she was owned by Crest Packers Ltd., Richmond BC.

These photographs were part of a small horde of prints and negatives recovered by Bob Fiorello that appear to have come from the closure of the John Manly Shipyard in New Westminster. They had been commissioned as part of the vessel construction process and were created by photographic contractors – the Stride Studios (Charles E. Stride). I am grateful to have been gifted these images which filled so many gaps in the Nauticapedia database. This collection has been donated to the Vancouver Maritime Museum for their permanent collection.

To quote from this article please cite:

MacFarlane, John (2022) The Tug Granthall. Nauticapedia.ca 2022. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/FILE.php

Site News: May 08, 2024

The vessel database has been updated and is now holding 92,807 vessel histories (with 15,646 images and 13,442 records of ship wrecks and marine disasters). The mariner and naval biography database has also been updated and now contains 58,616 entries (with 4,013 images).

In 2023 the Nauticapedia celebrated the 50th Anniversary of it’s original inception in 1973 (initially it was on 3" x 5" file cards). It has developed, expanded, digitized and enlarged in those ensuing years to what it is now online. If it was printed out it would fill more than 300,000 pages!

My special thanks to our volunteer IT adviser, John Eyre, who (since 2021) has modernized, simplified and improved the update process for the databases into a semi–automated processes. His participation has been vital to keeping the Nauticapedia available to our netizens.

Also my special thanks to my volunteer content accuracy checker, John Spivey of Irvine CA USA, who has proofread thousands of Nauticapedia vessel histories and provided input to improve more than 11,000 entries. His attention to detail has been a huge unexpected bonus in improving and updating the vessel detail content.

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