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Ship of the Month - cont'd. AGAWA was given a half-topgallant forecastle, on the head of which was set a small and low house which gave shelter to the towing winch. The towline pas­ sed over the straight stem via a large fairlead, and there was only an open pipe rail around the forecastle head. The anchors were carried from hawse­ holes set just above the loaded waterline, close to the stem. There was a pleasant sheer to AGAWA's decks, and an open post-and-wire rail ran down ei­ ther side of the spar deck. A wooden sheer strake ran most of the way down each side at the loaded waterline and a shorter additional rubbing strake lower down at the curve of the side, fore and aft. Six wooden fenders, hung from the deck rails, provided additional protection to the steel plates when docking or canalling. AGAWA had a fine counter stern and a closed steel taffrail around the flush quarterdeck. There was a deckhouse on the quarterdeck for crew accommoda­ tions and, on the boat deck above, there was a pilothouse which had four large windows in its slightly curved front. An open navigation bridge was carried on the monkey's island, with a closed wooden dodger around it and stretcher poles for the fitting of an awning overhead. (The barge was steered from here when under tow. ) The single lifeboat was worked by radial steel davits set on the starboard side of the boat deck. The short and rela­ tively thin smokestack, set close abaft the pilothouse, vented the boiler which provided steam for the winches and also for the steering engine. We never have been able to find out any details of AGAWA's original boiler, but undoubtedly it was built for the ship by the Collingwood shipyard, which had its own engine and boiler works. AGAWA's hull and forecastle were painted black. Her cabins all were white. Her masts were buff and her smokestack was buff with a black top. The compa­ ny's name was painted on each side of the bow in white letters, while the ship's name was carried in brass letters, with natural colour. The barge entered service during the latter half of the 1902 season and, as we have mentioned, she usually was towed by the steamer MONKSHAVEN. She ap­ pears to have operated successfully and we have been unable to find mention of any major untoward incidents involving AGAWA as a barge. However, by this time, some of the U. S. lake fleets that operated barges were having them converted to powered vessels, as the economics of barge towing were becoming unfavourable except for the largest of operators. This fact cannot have been lost on the Algoma Central management, as its powered freighters were growing old and were of salt-water rather than lake type. But the decision was made for the company when MONKSHAVEN was wrecked in 1905 and became a total loss in 1906, and THEANO also was lost in 1906. Perhaps the decision also had something to do with an incident reported in the November 28, 1906, edition of "The Duluth Evening Herald". "Chicago, Nov. 28 - Advices to underwriters state that the big steel barge AGAWA broke adrift from the steamer LEAFIELD on Lake Superior, 30 miles southeast of Passage Island. Tugs have been sent to search for the missing vessel. It is supposed to be at anchor at the foot of the lake. " AGAWA was recovered without apparent damage, but we should note that it was in the same storm that the steamer J. H. JONES was lost on Georgian Bay. In any event, the decision that was made was to put an engine in AGAWA over the winter of 1906-1907, and the contract for this work was awarded to the Collingwood Shipbuilding Company Ltd. during December of 1906. The work was duly carried out, the cost of the rebuilding amounting to $94, 871. It is staggering to think what a similar reconstruction would cost today! AGAWA was fitted with a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of 20, 33 1/2 and 55 inches bore and a stroke of 40 inches. On a working steam pressure of 180 p. s. i., it developed 1, 500 Indicated Horsepower or 191 Nomi­ nal Horsepower. Steam was provided by two coal-fired, single-ended Scotch marine boilers which had a total of six furnaces. Each boiler measured 14'0" in diameter and 12'0" in length, and there was a total of 144 square feet of grate surface and 4, 430 square feet of heating surface. The engine and boi-