Canadian List of Shipping 1956: O. M. 340 [C.195338] registered at Kenora; built at Owen Sound in 1945. 37'2 x 10'5 x 5'3; 14 g.t.; 9 n.t.; 138 hp. Owned by The Ontario, Minnesota Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd., Fort Frances, Ontario. Canadian List of Shipping 1970: Steel tug O. M. 340 [C.195338] registered at Kenora. Built at Owen Sound in 1945. 37'; 14 g.t.. Canadian List of Ships 1997: Owned by Boise Cascade Canada Ltd., Fort Frances, Ontario. Transport Canada List 2003: Owned by Boise Cascade Canada Ltd. RBF Notes: Hull 741 sitting dockside on George Armstrong Rd., Fort Frances, ON 2004. Builders plate reads �Built by Russel Brothers Limited, Owen Sound, ON 1947�. RBF Notes: Maurice Spooner from Bruce Mines, ON reports that O.M. 340 was sold to David Parker in the spring of 2005. An email to Mr. Parker confirmed the purchase and that the tug had already arrived in Kingston, ON June 28, 2005. "My dad, John Parker and I own the OM 340 and are restoring her. Best regards, David Parker." Work has already begun restoring the tug for use. Name changed to Pepperville Oct. 2006. Dec. 2018: Details for registered vessel PEPPERVILLE (O.N. 195338) Registry Date 2006-10-18 Certificate Expires 2021-10-31
Owned by: DAVID EDWARD PARKER
and JOHN EDWARD PARKER,
Address RR1
11TH LINE RD
City WOLFE ISLAND, ON, CANADA
K0H 2Y0
O.M. 340 working on Rainy Lake c. late 60's. Photo courtesy Sylvia Hnatiuk Johnston, 2014.
O.M. 340 pulling a log boom train on the Rainy River near Fort Francis, ON. Logging in northwestern Ontario - postcard dated 1969. Photo courtesy Brigitte Tessier Labby.
Comments on this photo, from the "You grew up in Fort Frances...or call it home." facebook group...
Ray Crowe: The boat in the picture is the 340. It had on its side a barge that was called a wanigan that had the bunkhouse and kitchen.
Gilbert Perreault: Billy Woods was the captain of that boat.
Lisa JG: My dad (Joe George) says it is the 340 and someone from Kingston bought it...my dad worked on it, so did Wayne George, Norman Lockman, Joe Widursky? sp?, Chaw Woods, Bobby McEvoy and there were many cooks were on it - like Freddie the cook (Fred Husk from Thunder Bay)..obviously not all worked on this at the same time but at different times - but a great picture, brings back many memories.
Kathi Sinclair Tucker: My hubby, Don Tucker said that the last tow of wood that crossed Rainy Lake was teamed up with Billy Woods captaining the 340 and George Tucker captaining the Hallet. There was 5000 cord of wood with the 340 pushing and the Hallet pulling making its way to the Fort Frances mill.
Joe Bolzan: I worked on the 340 in 1960. Captain was George Calder, Alphonse McPherson and I were logmen, not quite sure but the cook may have been McCoy or something similar. Below are the O.M. 340 and Hallett c. 1974.
Patric Ryan notes: c. 1980 (Hallett in background). Fort Frances, Ontario.
Hal Armstrong
sent over this clipping (Dec. 16, 2019) from the Fort Frances Times June 12, 1991.
Tugboat returns to Rainy by Doug Ashbury A ship out of water made its way back to its intended element Friday along the Noden Causeway. The "340", a tugboat weighing upwards of 20 tons, was transported to the boat launch area by Devlin Auto. With the help of Lyle Kellar's crane service to steady it, the tugboat's slip back into the water could not have gone slicker, said owner Glen Holmes. Holmes plans to use the tugboat to haul on Rainy Lake. He owns "Rent-A-Barge" located east of Fort Frances on Rocky Inlet Road. Holmes said he was bringing the boat back - it was built in 1947 by Russel Boat Works but has not been in use since 1973 - "for two reasons: one to restore it and the other for transportation".
Pat Pacarenuk of Devlin Auto hauled the "340" to the ramp and backed the trailer into the lake. Then the tugboat was secured by crane and gently eased off the trailer. Holmes said the tugboat will be used to push his barge on Rainy Lake. The barge sevice will haul just about anything just about anywhere on the lake, he said. Popularity for this type of hauling seems to be on the upswing, he noted, after several years of decline. He began the barge rental company in 1985. One use would be to transport all the building materials for a cabin up the lakes. "Water transportation is cheaper" than other methods, he said. The "340" runs on a 671 diesel engine pumping out about 180 horsepower, he continued.
Towed logs Its history, said Holmes, is one of towing logs for the Ontario Minnesota Paper Company, then for Boise Cascade Canada. Holmes said the tug likely not see any action this year but he plans to do more work on it, making it ready to push the barge next year. Other than some woodwork, sandblasting and paint, she's ready to go, said Holmes. The "340" made its way to the causeway launching area after being hauled from the Esox Landing up the Cedar Narrows Road off the Dryden highway.
RBF notes: O.M. 340 - Recently bought 2005 and trucked to Kingston, ON where she is being rebuilt. Already sports a fresh coat of black and yellow paint (Fort Frances, ON June 11, 2004)
Pepperville at Metalcraft Marine drydock in Kingston fall 2017 (left) and on Feb. 11, 2018. Photos by Maurice (M. David) Smith.
Pepperville at Metalcraft Marine in Kingston, spring, 2018. Photos courtesy Ryan Carson.
Art by Patric Ryan. Hallett and O.M. 340 (Pepperville). This hangs in my (Steve Briggs) exam room. About 1980 Patric considered buying the Hallett. Both boats were in Fort Frances at the time.
Paintings of O.M. 340 (Pepperville) in Kingston, Ont., by Phil Chadwick.
Incognito Tug.
This was the sunrise of the third day of the Paint the Town Kingston in association with the International Plein Air Painters World Wide Paint Out. The sun had just cleared the Thousand Islands and the shadows were very long indeed.
I visited the same tugboat from the previous evening and as painted in #2020 "Tug with No-name". I positioned myself about 20 yards further to the east along the wharf. I did not want to be in anyone's way when they came into work. I was all alone when I started to paint.
This time I imagined that the tug was undercover and thus incognito - as having one's true identity concealed - a James Bond and Ian Fleming spy tug. This could certainly be true as there must be a good story behind a boat that looked as liked this one as though it had been through the wars. No one I spoke to could either knew or could divulge the story.
My friend Jim Murtha suggested "Tuggy McTugFace" as the name of this boat... source
Tug With No-name
This was late afternoon of the second day of the Paint the Town Kingston in association with the International Plein Air Painters World Wide Paint Out. I strolled in the main yard of the Kingston Marina. I asked Robert who seemed to be in charge of operations if I could paint from the dock. He was very obliging so I did so.
The old tugboat across the small bay did not display any visible name. I asked but no one seemed to know the story behind this particular tug. It needed some work but it certainly still floated. A couple of ladies strolled by and asked if I painted mermaids... I can't make this stuff up. There were some buildings and another boat in behind the old tugboat but a sudden fog came in and removed them from the composition... The other structures did not add to the painting so they got removed. I am just making the sudden fog story up. It was a fair weather cumulus September. source
Pepperville in Kingston, ON. March 4, 2019. Photo by Rick Stout. Text of kijiji ad from last summer: "OM 340 / PEPPERVILLE For Sale Russell Bros. Tugboat $35,000.00 Solid Tug, needs finishing, Detroit 6 110 engine. has been sandblasted bilge cleaned. up. to date wiring by marine electrician. inverter etc. a classic tug beautiful lines needs tlc- "
Pepperville bought by Jason Lacelle Apr. 12th, 2019, of wolfeislandmarine.com. Photos courtesy Jason Lacelle.
Jason says the hull was in A-1 condition, very meticulously maintained, and apart from the paint, the boat was in great shape. Her first new voyage occured recently, and she was able to push a 150 ton barge at 5.4 knots and 1300 RPM for 12km with the 6-110 engine.
May 30, 2019. Video courtesy Jason Lacelle.
Pepperville at work for wolfislandmarine.com
Russel Brothers built 1947 Ville Class tugboat.
For more Russel exhibits visit Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum 1165 1st Ave West, Owen Sound, ON N4K 4K8 (519) 371-3333 http://marinerail.com
http://marinerail.com
