The Steam Tug

The Steam Tug is a historical read about the evolution of the steam engine and steam tug. Developed and patented in England in 1737, the author takes the reader to the end of the roaring 1850s in New York Harbor. It was not until 1807 that Robert Fulton introduced the first commercially successful steamboat the “Clermont” on the Hudson River in New York. In the early 1800s sailing ships entering the harbor would lie at anchor in Sandy Hook for days and weeks waiting for wind to power them into the harbor so they could offload their cargo. Due to the expansion of shipping and commerce during the mid 1800s, sailing ships realized that small steam ferries operating between Staten Island and lower Manhattan could tow them into local wharfs to discharge their cargo and begin loading domestic goods to distant ports abroad saving valuable time. With the advent of large clipper ships, increased commerce and advanced steam boats, would lead to the rise and birth of a new industry, The Towing Business.