Jenny Lynn sinking Cheboygan Wrecks

[Chief]

I have some pictures but they were taken from a long way off and I have to figure out how to do it since my new computer has windows 8. The EX William Hoey is at the Durocher Boat Yard where the owner is getting her ready for the Cost Guard to inspect it and give them a thumbs up to tow her to DA SOO. The plan I heard was to use the car ferry to tow her. Once in the SOO I have no idea what the plan is. One plan was they were going to scrap her which is a shame since she is a great old tug. There are plans being made to raise the Jenny Lynn later this summer and if gas prices go down I should have my boat in the water and can get some better pictures of the salvage operation.

[Guest]

Any updates or can any photos of the salvage be posted in the news photo gallery thanks in advance?

[Chief]

Went down to Duncan Bay about 1900 tonight and the tug was gone. Either Durocher towed her away or it sank. Suspect she was towed away.I went over to Durocher's boat yard and didn't see her, but there was a couple tugs and barges there and she could be behind them. I did note a pile of dirt/mud where the tug was and assume that it will be leveled out before they are done. I will send along some pictures as soon as I figure out how to do it with Windows 8.

[Chief]

Work has begun. Durocher's Barge in on site and the tug has been righted. I would guess that the Hoey will be afloat by tomorrow. The saga continues.

[Chief]

Sorry Mike for some reason I thought the question came from Dan--And the Senior Moments just keep on coming.

Brent

[Chief]

Dan--funny you should ask, but just today I ran in to a friend that works at Durocher Dredge and Dock and he said that they have a contract to remove the ex William Hoey. The current owner is supposed to pump her out and remove some ballast. Durocher is the going to dig/jet a channel in to her and pull her out. I hear she is lacking about 4 feet of floating, so with the removal of the water and the ballast and depending on the lake level this should maybe bring her up a couple feet. I guess the plan is to sell her scrap which I hear should bring about 30K. Shame that she should be scrapped as she is a nice tug, or was till they let her sit on the bottom for three years full of water. Once she is pumped out some quick work and the engine and other machinery may be saveable.

As far as the Jenny Lynn goes, the owner plans on raising her and I assume she will also go for scrap. The local Dive Shop has been using the sunken hulk for dive classes for the last couple years and would very much like to have her left in place. The problem is that the Pilot House is only a couple feet below the surface and since the place she rests is an area of very heavy boating traffic and the entrance to a boat club. Maybe the best option is to raise her and move her to deeper water where the local divers can play, but since these are novice divers I don't know where they can move it that it won't be a hazard to navigation and shallow enough for the dive classes. The bottom line is it will cost more to raise her then she will bring for scrap. Then there are still the outstanding fines that to my knowledge have not been paid yet and the new owners are probably on the hook for some or all of that money which if I remember right was about 38K. The Govt in the past has been known to take the money that the vessel brings for scrap to apply to outstanding fines. Will keep everyone advised and if I have my boat in the water by them will get some pictures.

[Mike H]

Any updates?

[Brent]

Both tugs are in Duncan Bay which is part of Lake Huron. The Hoey is closer to the park the the Jenny Lynn, but neither one in in what I would call the park area. I was under the impression that the new owner was to have removed both of them by 31 June 2011. If so they are a little late, because as of sunset tonight they are still there. I still think that the Hoey is repairable, the Jenny Lynn is another matter. Someone offered them to me a couple years ago, but all the fines and such go with the tugs.

[Timerover51]

Brent, if I recall correctly, both the Hoey and the Jenny Lynn are located in the waters of a state park. Is there any indication that the state of Michigan would like to have them moved out of there?

[Brent]

I got a call last year from someone asking if I wanted one or both of the tugs and I said maybe. The deal was that I could have the tugs if I removed them. Great except that I would also assume all the fines and legal costs involved--Not so great. The fines were over 100 grand and the cost of the two tugs floating and running was around 80 grand. Needless to say I passed on the deal. Now every time I drive down the street, I look over in the bay and see the Hoey, quietly rusting away.

[ed mertz]

This situation seems a lot like the Miner problem. Lots of legal action and very little actual progress ! Why don't they just --do it ?

[Timerover51]

So the tugs are still owned by someone then? Any chance that the State of Michigan would pay to get the Jenny Lynn at least out of Duncan Bay?

[Brent]

It was my understanding the ex-William Hoey and the Jenny Lynn were supposed to be gone by the end of June 2012. The new owner had a salvage plan and a lot of ideas. I suspect he was missing one key item and that is money. The ex-William Hoey is still hard aground and even Durocher tried to pull on her with no success. The only way the Hoey is going to move is a much bigger tug or some dredging. A bigger tug could be a problem as the water where the tug sits is not very deep. They are presently dredging the entrance channel to the Duncan Bay Boat Club, so here would be a great opportunity to have them take a couple swipes and get the tug dug out.

[Lindsey]

Went out to see the Ex-William Hoey, few changes over the summer. The door to engine room has a new lock on pad-lock on it and the other two doors were locked from the inside no way in without the key anymore. One of the pilot house windows has been busted out, appeared to be busted out from the inside, glass was all over the bow. Numerous holes have appeared along the edge of the bulwarks around the entire curve of the stern where the deck plating has rusted through.

[BigRiver]

The ferry was in the Soo in October at the MCM works.

[Guest]

Any new news about the fleet ? I thought the tugs / ferry were sold via a court agreement ?

[Diver Dan]

No change for the remaining tugs. The Hoey is aground, but I believe the stern is hanging free in deeper water. The Jenny Lynn is still submerged, no new efforts have been made to remove it. I was by there recently and saw nothing worth a new new photos.

[Guest]

Big Boy and McDonalds are both wireless in Cheboygan.

The Cheboygan Public Library has free WI-FI.

[Guest]

Have the Duncan Bay tugs and ferry been removed or re-floated from Cheboygan, Mi. waters? Pictures? Thanks in advance!

The carferry was tied up next to the Drummond Island ferry dock in DeTour Village a few weeks ago and may still be there.

[Curt]

Big Boy and McDonalds are both wireless in Cheboygan.