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Marine News - cont'd. A v i r t u a l l y per m a n e n t fixtu re on the Ne w Y ork State Barge Canal for a good ma n y years has bee n its last self-propelled freight vessel, the Erie N a v i g a t i o n Com p a n y ' s motor ca naller DAY PEC KI NP AU GH , (a) I N T E R W A T E R W A Y S LINE I N C O R P O R A T E D 101 (32), (b) I . L . I. 101 (36), (c) R I C H A R D J. BARNES (58), w h i c h was built in 1921 by the McD o u g a l l Duluth S h i p b u i l d i n g C o m p a n y at Duluth, Minnesota. She r e c e i v e d a new hull m i d b o d y in 1946, had her engin es rebuilt in 1926 and again in 1957, and was c o nverted to a s c r a p e r - t y p e , s e l f - u n l o a d i n g bulk cement carr ie r in 1962. The P E C K I N P A U G H ventu r e s only r a r e l y into the lakes these days, u s u a l l y only w hen d r y d o c k i n g becomes necess ar y. The rest of the time, she loads cement, at ab out 1 , 500 tons per trip, out of Essroc Ceme nt 's STEP H E N R. ROMAN, (a) FORT W I L L I A M (83), at Oswego, New York, and carries it dow n the Barge Canal on the 36 -hour run to Rome, New York. The P E C K I N P A U G H was sch e d u l e d to take her last load out of Oswego for the seas on on N o v e m b e r 24th, but there was a p o s s i b i l i t y that anot her trip might be made if weat h e r c o nditions al lowed the canal to remain in operation. C o n t i n u e d o p e r a t i o n of the agi ng PE CK INPAUGH, the last of her u n u s u a l breed, remai ns a y e a r - t o - y e a r matter. Meanwhile, weather co nd itions on the lower lakes, a l t h o u g h unpl ea sa nt , r e m a i n e d w a r m enough that the St. La wrence Seaway and W e l l a n d Ship Canal could remain in o p e r a t i o n unt il Ch ristmas Eve, Decem b e r 24th. Th ere was little d i f f i c u l t y e n c o u n t e r e d in get ti ng the last salt- w a t e r ve ssels out of the Seaway in time for its closing. No de finite clos i n g date had been a n n o u n c e d for the the St. Mary's Falls Canal, at the M i c h i g a n Soo, a l t h o u g h vessel owners had i n dicated that no lock traffic was e x p e c t e d after J a n u a r y 9th. The M a c A r t h u r Lock clo se d for the se ason at m i d n i g h t on Saturday, Decem b e r 19th, and th er eafter onl y the Poe Loc k r e m a i n e d open for vessel passages. Ships t r a n s itting the St. Ma r y ' s River en c o u n t e r e d little d i f f i c u l t y du r i n g the clo si ng weeks of 1992. * * * * * THE SHIPS OF PORT WELLER In the October issue, we r e v i e w e d Skip Gil l h a m ' s The Ships of C o l l i n g w o o d , and now the second book of this series, e n t itled The Ships of Port W e l l e r , is available. The new book is 90 pages (plus i n t r o d u c t o r y mater ia l) and i s p r e s e n t e d in the same softcover, upr ig ht 8 1 / 2 by 11" format. There are a great m any photos, those on the int er io r bei ng in good q u a l i t y b l a c k - a n d white, while the covers are in colour. The front cover features a rathe r amus i n g photo of ARCTIC in h e a v y n o r t h e r n ice, wit h a dog team and sled in the foreground, while the back cover illust r a t e s A V O N FOREST and the Coast Guard i c ebreaker DES GRO SE IL LI ER S. The first three chapte rs of the book detai l the h i s t o r y of Port Wel l e r Dry Docks from its for m a t i o n in Apr il of 1946 by Charl es An s e l l (DALH OU SI E CITY and W I N D S O L I T E were the first ships to use the ne w f a c i l i t y on April 3rd), right up to the present. The largest se ction of the b ook contains a short history, w ith photos, of each vessel built (or rebuilt, if a ne w Hull Num be r was assigned) by Port Weller Dry Docks, inc l u d i n g the three tugs built at the former Muir Bros, sh ipyard at Port D a lhousie after it was a c q uired by P. W . D . D. An index of ships is i n c o r p o r a t e d into the Tab le of Contents; it is done by Hull Numb er order rathe r than al ph ab et ically, but it is not d i f ficu lt to manage, as far fewer ships are in volved than was the case wit h the C o l l i n g w o o d book, w hich had no index of ships at all. An intere s t i n g a d d i t i o n to any may be o b t ained from Ni agara lisher, R i v e r b a n k Traders, 57 or telephone (416) 934-3634. postage. lake mari ne library, The Ships of Port Wel le r area book se ll er s, or by a d d r e s s i n g the p u b M ain Street, St. Ca tharines, On tario L2N 4T8 The price is $ 1 7 . 95 plus $ 2 . 00 pack i n g and * * * * *