Boatnerd Discussion Forum

That is interesting also in the fact that the John A Topping became the 2nd William A Reiss.

Did Leathem Smith ever end up making a canal boat out of portions of the hull?

In 1934 Leathem Smith was in no position to do much of anything. After Reiss and the underwriters could not agree on rebuilding William A. Reiss Reiss turned it over to the underwriters who sold it for a few thousand dollars to Luria Brothers of Chicago, who contracted with the Leathem D. Smith Coal & Shipbuilding Company to dismantle it, the only substantial work the moribund yard had seen in ages. William A. Reiss arrived at Sturgeon Bay 17 December 1934 from Manitowoc in tow of the tugs A. H. Pitz and Reiss, the same week Reiss bought the John A. Topping to replace it. The first fifty tons of scrap from it left by rail for Gary on 14 January 1935. In the fall of 1935 the Smith yard secured winter work contracts on Sinaloa and Col. E. M. Young and the decision was made to complete dismantling of William A. Reiss to free up yard space.

Did Leathem Smith ever end up making a canal boat out of portions of the hull?

Here are two brief articles about the metamorphosis, one from the Door County Advocate, 28 June 1935, and another republished in the Sheboygan Press 24 June 1935 from the 23 June 1935 edition of the Milwaukee Journal that shed some light.

I've seen photos of the pilothouse of the William A. Reiss (1901) being used as a cottage on the south side of Sturgeon Bay. Does anyone know if the cottage is still around, or where exactly it is/was?