Art Anderson is the current owner and master of the Glendevon. Over the years Art has had many boats with this latest boat being the biggest. The Glendevon is often referred to as a grand piano on water. He has been restoring her over the past 12 years and she is about 95% completed with work ongoing. Even though he has had many requests, Art has no plans to charter her. It will be used as a private pleasure yacht to travel the BC coastline. He had her seven years before he went on his first sea trial on the tug. In those days there was nothing to sit on inside but a few lawn chairs, air mattresses to sleep on, and a barbecue on the aft deck to cook on. This labour of love would not a have been possible without his close friend and co-worker Tim Skocylas by his side every step of the way. Tim's countless hours of work and dedication he put into making this a reality was and is greatly appreciated. Tim is now the engineer on the boat and goes cruising with Art whenever the tug goes on a journey. Art and Tim are asked many questions about the restoration wherever he goes and wanted to pass some of the history behind his tug to those who are interested. This is the reason for this web site.

McKenzie Barge and Derrick Co. Ltd. of North Vancouver built the 80 foot wooden tug 'Glendevon' for the Canadian Navy in 1944. It was one of three boats commissioned for the Navy and was stationed in Victoria B.C. When it was built it had a Vivian diesel engine but this was replaced in 1970 with the CAT engine it currently has. The Glendevon was sold by the Navy to a private Company 'Armor Salvage' out of Prince Rupert BC in 1969 where it was used in the north coast. RivTow bought out Armour Salvage around 1971 and acquired the Glendevon at that time. RivTow bought Bute Towing at a later date, and the Glendevon eventually transferred over to the Bute towing Division.

The Glendevon earned her keep for RivTow in Prince Rupert in the early 1970's by making Masset freight barge runs across Hecate Strait, and towing logs from the Nass River to Prince Rupert. Her Masters at that time came with her from Armour Salvage. They were "Max Sievert" and "Charlie Curry Jr." ( Max Sievert was Master a few years later on the RivTow Rogue when she went down off Triple Isl. with the loss of all hands.) ......... (Charlie Currie Jr. retired some years ago and has since passed away.)

Rivtow kept the boat until 1985 when the retired commercial tug was sold to Cecil Rhodes in 1985 who used her as a Cadet training vessel. He installed a number of bunks to bring the total to 25 to house all the cadets and used it right up until December 15th,1992 when the current owner Art Anderson purchased her. Art first learned the tug boat was for sale through word of mouth and West Coast Mariner Magazine classified. Art was familiar with the Glendevon as he had worked on her sister ship, the North Arm Highlander, in 1971. He waited almost a year before approaching Cecil regarding purchase as he was really looking for something that didn't require much work. Art knew the Glendevon would need a lot of work but there wasn't anything else to choose from at the time. When the Glendevon was purchased in 1992 she still had a contract for Cadet training with the Canadian Navy which Art chose not to pursue.

Art had been planning on restoring an old tug since he was 16 years old. When Art first purchased the boat in 1992 he still thought he could utilize it for pleasure boating while he did some repairs. However, he never did manage to use the boat due to a number of mechanical difficulties that could not be trusted (Art is very fussy and takes no risks with safety). As he was repairing mechanical problems he began to look at fixing the housing by gutting the cabins and to change the DC electrical wiring and heating. Well......the more he got into it the more he kept tearing out until eventually there was nothing but this big shell. Art describes it, at this point, as an 80 foot canoe with the main engine and fuel tanks. After removing 15 big container loads of old materials (electrical, wood, metal, etc) from the tug they started humming and hawing about the project and wondering if he might have been over his head (or out of his head!!)

With his love and passion for the old tug Art began on the restoration. The first job once the demolition stage was over was to install new Gensets (3 phase) and begin installing new deck beams. The water tanks and the fuel tanks were all sanded down and epoxied. The tanks were like new as they were built out of Kor-Ten steel.

Eventually there were differences of opinions between the marina (where they were doing the demo/restoration at) and Art so he began hunting for new moorage. The late Claire Johnson, of Cates towing, came to the rescue and offered Art a berth at Seaforth Towing dock in Port Moody. So on a cloudy day in March, Claire sent down the Cates XX to tow the Glendevon to her new home. As a note, Art would like to mention that he and Claire Johnson became the best of friends and he was very sorry to lose him to Cancer on January 27, 2004. This spot turned out to be ideal and the work carried on there for five years. The work in these years was all performed under an enormous white tarp set up. The Glendevon drew the local tow boaters and marine pilots in the area as there was much interest from the industry and many would stop by now and then just to get an update and see how the project was progressing. The connections made in these years persist to this day as whenever the Glendevon is out she gets waves , whistles, and the odd radio call from the passing traffic saying how great she looks and commending the crew on a job well done.

As the restoration moved forward so did the expenses. In total five semi-truck loads of wood had to be purchased. The Fir was shipped from Sointula BC, Teak from India, Gumwood from Australia, and Yellow Cedar from Campbell River, BC Art made sure that all the measurements were taken from the house structure to ensure the lines were built to the original configuration. In the beginning, part of the housing was left so they could stay within the original lines. This housing was later demolished as the work began in the stern. The main focus was to finish the main decking and put the housework back on to keep the weather out of her. As none of this work was done in a shipyard a lot of this work was backbreaking.

The next step was to begin on all of the Teak window frames & doors. They stumbled accross a guy by the name of Peter Cook who turned out to be one of the most talented woodworkers Art had ever met. Peter (fondly nicknamed the Beaker) came from England where he worked as a "Coachman" which was the title for the experienced woodworker who did all the interior work on the English soccer teams buses. He was able to work magic with the raw Teak, or any wood they gave him, creating the beautiful dutch doors, cabinets, window frames, and so on that became the showpieces of the boat. Even after the job was completed Peter was a regular visitor at the boat joining the usual Saturday morning coffee gang. Unfortunately, Peter succumbed to lung disease and died at the age of 56 on August 12, 2005. He'll be greatly missed by Art & Tim.

The bulwarks were all replaced in Fir with a Gumwood cap that took three months to complete. Art couldn't find 9" spikes for the installation anywhere in town and ended up finding them in Seattle. New steel cleats and fairleads, door hinges, fuel and water filler caps, and deck railing stantions were all made from patterns that Arts crew designed. The brass molds were poured at Hastings Brass. This was done over a four year period as work progressed. The steel cleats were also something that you couldn't just go out and buy at your local marine store; Art had to have them specially made at a foundries in Surrey BC The four cleats weigh over 375lbs each.

The original windlass winch that was on the boat was built by Burrard Iron Works and was sent out to Morrison Hydraulics to be rebuilt. Two hawse pipes were installed as the anchor chain used to go over a fairlead on the deck. If you look back at the original picture of the boat you will notice it did not have hawse pipes. It took a week to drill each hawse pipe by hand with a 7" auger that is 7 feet long from the deck to the outside of the hull. Tim and Joe accomplishing this job stands out in Arts mind as one of the most impressing feats. They burnt out two 3/4" drills . Tim had to rebuild the drilling bit 6 or 7 times because of all the bolts and spikes they had to go through. The winch had sat for three years in the shop before Art picked it up for installation. There are two anchors; one weighing 650 lbs with 370 feet of chain and the other is 300lbs with 270 feet of chain, both are 3/4" studded link. The smaller anchor is referred to as the lunch anchor used only for short stays and calm waters.

The portholes on the house are original with all new bronze tinted glass 3/4" thick. The finishing was done with V Joint. It had to be milled as the wood was not available. A 2-tonne crane winch with an extendable 21' boom was installed on the boat deck. It is used to lift the 17' aluminum tender on and off the tug. The crane is also used to lift heavy supplies on and off the tug. The wheelhouse was built close to the original size. Art, being a tall man, decided to raise the roof 4" and it now stands 6'8" inside. All new electronics and navigation equipment was installed with a video system to monitor the engine room that is able to swing 250 degrees.

There were many skeptics throughout this project. One major skeptic, were the insurance companies...it was impossible to get insurance at any price until it was able to pass a survey which meant the boat had to be about three quarters finished. The excuse the insurance company gave was their experience with people never finishing these types of projects. They may end up in financial combustion or mysteriously sinking and then the insurance company ends up paying . The first seven years of investment and not being insured was a risk but there was no other choice (not even construction insurance was available ) During the first couple of years a lot of material had to be cut out of the boat with torches. We had a couple of small fires but were fortunately able to extinguish them and prevent them from spreading.

All the wiring is CSI approved. The tug has hot water heat with four zones that control heat in the salon,stateroom, fo'c'sle and wheelhouse. The engine is kept at 110 degrees at all times. The boiler system is a 110,000 btu diesel fired system that runs 24/7 and also heats the domestic water supply for the tug. The tug is propelled through the water with a 4 blade stainless steel propeller 82 X 46. A fire pump was installed to provide water to 2 fire stations onboard the outer decks. It also works as an emergency bilge suction. All the new piping in the engine room is stainless steel. The Main Engine is a Cat 398 765 hp air start with a 4 to 1 gear reduction. The cruising speed is 10 knots @ 1000 rpm. Arts initals can be found on the stack.

Traveling on the Glendevon is an unparalleled experience. Everywhere she stops she draws a crowd before she's even tied up to the float. Art often jokes, "What's going on? Did someone put up a free beer sign?" Then the questions start from the crowd. The number one question asked over and over again is "What kind of wood is that?" The questions go on and on from here. Then someone in the crowd is bound to want to tell Art and Tim about a boat that they have or are restoring. Some of these people are angling for tips but some are offering their unwanted expertise on how to do something. A favourite line offered to Art and Tim is "You should have......." Hence for all the "experts" they have encountered, a sign hangs in the main salon that says "When we're on your boat we'll do it your way!" But most people have no idea what transformation the Glendevon has actually gone through and what Art and Tim have really done to make the Glendevon a showpiece. Art says the interest is phenomenal and the attention was a novelty at the beginning . Now , however, they find themselves, more often than not, anchoring out somewhere just to avoid attention. Not that this is a solution because then they get boats circling round them snapping pictures. Art often says he wishes he had a nickel for every picture taken of this boat. After all is said and done, Art says if he were the guy standing on the dock gawking at the Glendevon he would have a million questions also.

Art says he could go on and on for days with all the trials and tribulations that he has gone through while restoring the tug. He now wants to enjoy it and have some fun going on trips like he used to do on his other boats. Art loves fishing and has many friends with tug boats, wood boats and "tupperware" boats. One of his good friends Mel Booth has been there from the day they picked up the Glendevon and brought her home chronicling the events and the years following by taking endless rolls of pictures. A good majority of the pictures on the website were taken by Mel, the more recent ones with his new digital camera. Another person who has donated many, many hours of hard labour is Arts buddy Tom Duggan (fondly called Cabin Boy). Tom has always risking his marriage to hang around with the boys and disappear on long weekends and trips with the "boys club". Arts friends wives find the competition between themselves and "the boat" a constant battle. He has appreciated his friends support and interest over the years and has met many people while on this 'journey' but says emphatically " NEVER AGAIN!".

A Nautical Barometer

Flag is Wet - Raining
Flag is Dry - Isn't Raining
Flag is Swaying - Windy
Flag Stands Sideways - Very Windy
Flag Casts Shadow - Sunny
Flag Casts No Shadow - Cloudy
Flag is Not Visible - Night
Flag is Barely Visible - Foggy
Flag is Frozen -Very Cold
Flag is floating - Boat is Sinking
Flag is Smoking - Boat is On Fire
Flag is Missing - Hurricane

Top Lines From the Sailboater

We had the right of way.
We can't go out it's too windy.
Can I borrow your hose?
Do ya mind if we tie up for a few minutes?
Could you turn down the music?
HOW MUCH??!!
Could I borrow some diesel?
What time do the restrooms open?
Could you help me pull my anchor up?
12:00 a.m. - Clang! Clang! Clang,Clang,Clang! Clang!!!
put,put,put,put,put,put,put,...!!!!!!
Pass me my rain gear!!!!
MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY!

Definitions

Abandon ..... A wild state in which a sailor relinquishes a boat.