TugBoat Roundup
Tugboat Festival at the Gateway to the NYS Canals
Here's an example of what happened this year:
We had a boat show near Lock 2.
The Lois McClure was here and open for touts.
Tugboats were open for walk-throughs - and we had working tugs up to 110 feet long, antique and historic tugs which have worked the rivers, canals and harbors. We had maintenance boats, work boats, barges. There are tug fans with their tug-type cruisers.
We showed first-screen videos of a great history piece on tugs of the past and we had "bitt talks" of the future of commercial shipping on inland waterways.
The mini-tugs were here, and they showed their stuff in "working" the Waterford harbor.
Push-off or "nose-to-nose" competitions took place between boats and crewmen showed their skills in a "line-tossing" competition (a practical skills used all the time from barges and boats).
There were boat rides on the Hudson River and the entrance to the Erie Canal.
Over all, we estimate well over 11,000 people throughout the weekend visiting the Roundup and even more from the banks of the Hudson during Friday's Tugboat Parade (over 2 dozen boats in that parade!)
We had 30 boats in the water, a dozen boats on shore and all kinds of things to do from kiddie rides to knot and splicing demonstrations.
What a weekend.....

Date and Time
Sunday Sep 9, 2018
Location
Waterford Waterfront, Tugboat Alley