William C Daldy

Last weekend we went over to Devonport for some shopping and saw a sign that the William C Daldy was open for tours. So all aboard!

The Daldy is a coal-fired steam-powered tugboat that operated here from 1936 to 1977. She’s still running and available for charters thanks to the efforts of a volunteer group.

There was a lot of very cool and very massive stuff in the boiler room and engine areas. As described in the Wikipedia article linked above, she could burn a ton of coal per hour when working hard.

There were no luxuries aboard, although so much varnished wood makes it look rather grand.

We enjoyed our quick walk through, and applaud the gang who keep her afloat… a good hobby for them and some good history for the rest of us.