Detail of Historic Tug HERCULES - a photo on Flickriver

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Hercules was built in 1907 by John H. Dialogue and Sons, of Camden, New Jersey. She was built for the Shipowners' and Merchants' Tugboat Company of San Francisco, as part of their Red Stack Fleet (a part of today's Crowley Maritime Corporation). After completion, Hercules was sailed to San Francisco via the Straits of Magellan.

For the first part of her life, Hercules was an oceangoing tug. Because of the prevailing northwest winds, sailing ships often employed Hercules and her sisters on journeys north up the coast from San Francisco. For example, in 1916, Hercules towed C.A. Thayer to Port Townsend, Washington. On return trips back down the coast, Hercules often towed log rafts of Pacific Northwest timber, to Southern California mills. At other times, Hercules was employed towing barges to other ports on the West Coast and to Hawaii, and in transporting equipment for the construction of the Panama Canal.

In 1924, Hercules was acquired by the Western Pacific Railroad. For her new owners, she worked shuttling railroad car floats across San Francisco Bay from Oakland and Alameda to San Francisco.

In 1947, she and the tugboat Monarch were given the task of towing the hulk of the battleship Oklahoma to San Francisco Bay to be scrapped. However, 500 miles from Hawaii, they were struck by a powerful storm and the Oklahoma began taking on water and sinking, threatening to drag the two tugs along with her. While the Monarch managed to release her lines, Hercules could not get free until the last moment, narrowly avoiding being dragged into the deep by the Oklahoma. Afterwards, she returned to shuttling car floats and worked in this role until 1957, when she was replaced by the diesel-powered train ferry Las Plumas. Hercules was kept in a stand-by role to the new ferry until 1961.
Restoration and Preservation

The California State Park Foundation acquired Hercules in 1975, and the National Park Service took over her restoration in 1977. In 1986 she was designated a National Historic Landmark. She is now one of the exhibits of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and is to be found moored at the park's Hyde Street Pier.

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Taken on: January 27, 2014

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tug

HERCULES

composition

available light

natural light

existing light

full frame

DSLR

Nikon

D600

Nikkor 28-300mm

RED!

historic ship

San Francisco Bay

Scott Stewart-Johnson

detail

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Sets appears in: • San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park • Weathered, Worn and/or Old more » • Pacific Coast, Northern California • Nautical - Ships, Boats, Piers, Docks & Gear • San Francisco, California « less

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Camera: Nikon D600, f/10.0, 1/400 sec, 48mm, ISO 320 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D600
Lens:	AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR
Aperture:	f/10.0
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length:	48mm
ISO:	320
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Aperture 3.6
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