Shaver

Many Shaver tugs, including the Port- SHAVER TRANSPORTATION: land and Sommer S, seen here assisting a bulk carrier on the FROM STERNWHEELS TO STERN DRIVES lower Willamette River, are equipped with line-handling cranes. Photo cour- ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER tesy of Shaver.

SHAVER TRANSPORTATION OF PORTLAND, By Peter Marsh The wooden sternwheelers of that era Oregon has been a fixture on the Columbia were all driven hard and not built to last long. River since 1880 when George Washington Manzanillo, he After 15 years, Shaver’s top two boats were Shaver progressed from supplying wood to fuel steamboats scrapped and the steam engines were removed and re-used to operating his first sternwheeler. On the Hendersonin new boats carrying the same name. However, 1901 saw the began hauling freight to the downriver communities as far as launch of a sternwheel tug that proved to be the exception: the Clatskanie, Oregon. By 1893, Shaver and his two sons James lived a charmed life, despite numerous mishaps. It W. and George M. Shaver were ready to incorporate and open was sunk and rebuilt in 1912, rebuilt and re-engined in 1929, theirGeorge own boatyard. W. Shaver Sarah Dixon and sunk and raised again in 1950. They launched two luxurious passenger carriers named It survived into the 1950’s and became famous for its the and the after himself and appearance in the movie “BendHenderson of the River” starring James his wife. There was fierceT. J. Potter, competition among the numerous- Stewart. This film included an old-time steamboat racePortland down, passenger carriers on the run to Astoria, especially from the the Columbia River,Henderson with the going up against famous sidewheeler owned by the Oregon Rail the heavily disguised steel-hulled sternwheeler way and Navigation Company (ORNC). This rivalry was only built in 1946. The was still going strong when it resolved in 1896, when Shaver was persuaded to take its boats was struck by its tow in 1956 near Astoria, which ended its off the Portland/Astoria run in return for a monthly subsidy. 55-year career.

20 Pacific Maritime • July 2015 • www.pacmar.com Shaver

MOVE TO TOWING - When the Corps system With the arrival of the rail of eight dams and locks was way in Astoria in the 1890’s, the completed in 1975, it became riverboat industry was forced to possible to barge wheat from change course. Shaver navigated the farms of SE Washington’s around this issue by shifting to Palouse country down the Snake barge towing and ship handling. River to deepwater grain docks By 1914, the fleet consisted of- in the Portland area. Shaver seven steam tugs. Shaver was began a barge-building program Thealso Jamesahead ofW its rivals in adopt to meet the demand, for service ing diesel engines. They built all the way to Lewiston, Idaho, , in 1923 with 300- 365 miles from Portland. The HP and a “screw propeller” and company currently owns 18 converted several of their steam Shaver’s latest tug, the 78-foot Sommer S, built specifically (covered) barges with capacities ers to diesel with propeller drive. for service on the Columbia River, is fitted with a Markey of 2,500 to 4,000 tons. The barge electric hawser winch forward and four Beebe electric fleet has a combined capacity of In 1938, when the US Army- winches for barge work aft. Photo by Peter Marsh. Corps of Engineers constructed almostHenderson 62,000 tons. the first dam on the Colum Surprisingly, the scrapping of bia River, Bonneville, Shaver the did not mark the responded by providing upriver Portland end of the steam era for Shaver.- barge service to the head of navigation at The Dalles, 48 miles From 1947 to 1980, the Port of Portland’s own steam-driven above the dam. During the post-war boom years, Shaver was operated by local tug companies. Although out operated two-dozen steel-hulled diesel tugs towing logs and dated, this 219-foot sternwheel tugPortland was the most powerful barges on the river and along the West Coast, and docking ship-handling tug and the workhorse on the Willamette River. ships. The company extended service further up the Columbia The 1980 announcement that the was being retired When the new Dalles dam and lock came on stream in 1957. led the three tug companies then active on the river – Shaver, congratulations!

Foss Maritime applauds Shaver Transportation for 135 successful years on the water.

www.foss.com • Always Safe. Always Ready.

www.pacmar.com • July 2015 • Pacific Maritime 21 Shaver

HIGH-LIFT RUDDERS TRANSFORM STEERING ON SHAVER’S UMATILLA Brix and Willamette – to design a tug MODERN TECHNOLOGY While many of Shaver’s newer tugs employ ASD propulsion, the high cost of that could replace it. purchasing and maintaining azimuthing drives and the Shaver got a running start by having risk of grounding them two naval architects on its staff, Donald on the reefs of the upper Columbia and Snake Rivers Hudson and James Tower, design a set led the company to try a of features that are now standard in the radical option to improve industry, including a broad bow and the steering on one of their stern and angled bulwarks set inboard. conventional push boats, the Their design would be equipped with 3,400 hp 89-foot Clearwater. the new azimuthing drive propulsion They ordered a pair of units manufactured by Maritime Indus- Defl ector high-lift rudders tries in Vancouver BC. designed and built by Shaver won the contract and chose Lowell Stambaugh in Nichols Bros. Boatbuilders, in Freeland, Naselle, Washington near Washington to build the powerful azi- the mouth of the Columbia. muthing stern drive (ASD) or z-drive These were installed in the design in 1981. The arrivalPortland of the 107- existing nozzles and made foot, 3,000-HP (recently upgraded to a dramatic improvement The Defl ector high-lift rudders use a fl ap on the 4,000 hp) tractor tug made to handling, giving the crew trailing edge to create greater thrust. Note that Shaver the first operator on the US West the vital extra control they the fl anking rudders forward of the propellers Coast with this revolutionary technol- needed when working a face aft and are only turned off center when reverse gear is engaged. Photo by Peter Marsh. ogy. “It was definitely the first one on train of barges through the the West Coast. There was only one BPA locks in bad weather. other z-drive around at the time, and The experiment was so that one was on the East Coast,” Shaver successful that in 2012, when the company was planning a re-power of its Portland smallest tug, the 65-foot by 24-foot Umatilla, they decided to replace not only the Transportation president Steve Shaver engines, but also the two steering and four fl anking rudders with Defl ectors. confirmed. The exceeded all expectations, and has served in the Shaver’s port engineer Dennis Malloy rented a small dry dock that was towed port faithfully for more than 30 years, to their moorage on the Willamette River in NW Portland in January 2015. The Umatilla was lifted out and the entire propulsion and steering systems while the Canadian stern drives are still were removed, and new Sheffi eld type 37 nozzles were attached and the six in great shape. new Defl ector rudders, with new 6” shafts, tubes and tillers were installed. (z-drives are no longer produced in the Northwest – Maritime Industries The tug’s original engines, a pair of 700 hp Detroit Diesel 149 V-8 two-strokes, ultimately became part of the Ulstein were replaced by twin Tier 2 MTU V-8 4000’s that had previously been fi tted to a yacht and warranted by the MTU/Detroit dealer Pacifi c Power in group, and is now owned by Rolls Royce Ridgefi eld, Washington. They were rated at 1,140 HP continuous at 1,800 Marine.) rpm. This has increased the available power by more than 800 HP and By the early 1990s, Shaver was dramatically increased the bollard pull from 28,000 lbs. to around 40,000 lbs. ready for a new tug that would con- With the increased power and greatly improved steering, the 65’ tug is tain all the latest ideas. So Steve Shaver now comparable to Shaver’s 70-foot Lassen with 3,700 HP. “The Umatilla went to Vancouver to ride on the new can now handle ship and barge-handling jobs that would previously have ASD tugs Robert Allan had designed needed one of the company’s big ASD boats,” Malloy noted. He also for C.H. Cates & Sons. He came away stressed the importance of the boat retaining its 8-foot draft, 5 to 6 feet less convinced that Vancouverthis was the future of than his ASD tugs, and the rudders being protected by heavy shoes. the industry. So Allan drew up the lines This may be the world’s fi rst application using four fl anking ( forward facing) for the 79-foot , which was high-lift rudders. However, Stambaugh already has an order from an operator on launched by Martinac in Tacoma, Wash- the Mississippi River for another set of six Defl ectors. He has built fl ap rudders ington in 1993. for vessels up to 200 feet long, including a Great Lakes ferry and an offshore tug. This was a sophisticated boat with “I think this proves that there is an alternative to expensive ASD drives,” he features like electric winches, a crane commented. “The Shaver crew also mentioned to me that the Umatilla responds to pass heavy hawsers, and power to the helm when gliding in neutral – an advantage over tractor tugs when making supplied by DDEC Detroit Diesel 16V small corrections, especially when lining up to enter the locks upriver.” 149s – the final version of this popu- lar two-stroke with turbo-charging and electronic control, each produc- 22 Pacifi c Maritime • July 2015 • www.pacmar.com ing 1,500 HP at 1,800 rpm and turning Shaver

PortlandNiigata z-drives. It registered 85,100 lbs. of bollard pull, out-pushed the , and became the company’s flagship for the next 18 years. It was also the premier Robert Allan tug on the US mainland. This success encouraged Shaver to fit ASDs to two new pushDeschutes tugs also built Willametteat J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding in Tacoma in 1997 and 1999. The and are 91-foot by 36-foot, 3,540-HP towboats with push knees, and these boats pioneered the use of ASDs on inland waters – a concept now being seen on the Mississippi River. They are also used for ship handling when not upriver pushing Shaver’s big- gestANOTHER barge TUG tows through the locks.

By 2010, with the increase in bulk exports and more terminals planned Shaver’s Umatilla was recently repowered with twin Tier 2 MTU V-8 4000’s to better handle for the lower Columbia, Shaver decided the large grain barges the company moves along the river system. aAnz_American_Tugboat_Review_85,7x123,8_0514_Anz_American_Tugboa third ship-handling tug would be t_Review_85,7x123,8_0514 22.05.14 09:26 Seite 1 needed, and began reviewing the

YOUR PROPULSION EXPERTS No one works harder than Congratulations Shaver! a red tug. We should know. Congratulations on 135 successful years, Shaver. We wish you continued success in the future.

THE DRIVE YOU DESERVE

Our product range SRP STP comprises azimuthing propulsion systems, maneuvering and take- home devices as well as complete conven- tional propulsion packages rated at up

to 30 MW. SCD Single SCD Twin We offer economical and eco-friendly solutions for vessels of a wide range of different types and sizes. Thus we can SPJ SCP provide the right thrust for your vessel. Crowley.com/ShipAssist 1-800-900-TUGS (8847) +1 985 346 8302 www.schottel.com STT SRT crowley.com/social

www.pacmar.com • July 2015 • Pacifi c Maritime 23 Shaver

(LEFT) The 1901-built wooden sternwheeler Henderson (foreground), seen here winning a race against the 1946-built steel-hulled steamboat Portland, was still working the river when it was struck by its tow in 1956 near Astoria, ending its 55-year career. Photo courtesy berths and two single berths, although of Peter Marsh. (RIGHT) Shaver built the George W. Shaver and the Sarah Dixon in 1892 to compete for passenger service on the Columbia River. Photo courtesy of Peter Marsh. she will normally sail with two or four. The new boat is named after Harry Shaver’s daughter Sommer Sondra Shaver, who dedicated much of her life to Shaver Transportation. design options. The desire to incor- at 1,800 rpm and turning Schottel SRP In 2012, the company also acquired porate several unique features to suit 1215 z-drives. It has Markey’s new a 1990-built tractor with z-drives set the boat for its work on the river led compact 50-HP DEPC 48 electric winch forward under the wheelhouse and Shaver to Capilano Maritime, the design on the foredeck and a set of four Beebe powered by twin 750-rpm B&W Holeby office headed by Mark Mulligan, which electric winches for barge hauling on Washington Falcon Delta Billie, 1,600 hp diesels. This vessel, re-named opened its doors in North Vancouver in the aft deck. Bollard pull is an impres- Kinsman Falcon (ex , ex 2008. Mulligan had been an engineer at sive 65 tons, making it by far the most ex ) has undergone Maritime Industries, moving up to Sea- powerful tug in the company’s fleet. Seaspan Hawk Seaspan extensive modernization, and brought span, where he was responsible for the “We designed this boat to be Colum- Falcon Shaver’s fleet to 12 tugs, with four ABS 72-foot and bia River specific,” says Steve Shaver, certified or approved as Columbia River built in 1993. President of Shaver Transportation. A Bar escort vessels. Including the two Those two tugs were the basis of lot of attention was given to the bridge Sommer S push tugs, half of Shaver’s fleet are now Shaver’s new 78-foot Columbia Class to ensure the most ergonomic layout. ASDs. The company’s fleet is RCP and tug, the , constructed in “This boat has some of the best visibil- Sommer S Sommer S ISO 9001/2008 certified. North Portland at Diversified Marine. ity of a ship-docking tug that I’ve ever Shaver’s port engineer Dennis is powered by twin MTU seen,” Steve added. The can Malloy has overseen the re-power of six V16 4000 M61s developing 2,680 bhp accommodate six crew in two double of the bigger boats with more power- ful MTU 4000 Tier II engines, with help “PROTECTING THE FUTURE ASSETS OF from various state and federal grants. OUR CUSTOMERS” All work except for drydocking is per- formed at the company’s base on the CONGRATULATIONS Willamette River in Portland’s north- SHAVER west industrial district, centered on the ON 135 YEARS! 220-foot WWII landing craft purchased in 1960 and converted into a floating maintenance shop. The office and administration onshore is housed in a vintage wooden airplane hangar converted to the com- pany HQ, and is decidedly modest Ph: 800-426-3917 Fax: 425-488-2424 by today’s corporate standards. The www.schuylerco.com atmosphere is informal and the walls are decorated with wheels and name boards of historic Shaver craft, while 24 Pacifi c Maritime • July 2015 • www.pacmar.com Shaver

models of newer boats are found in the offices. GRAIN TOWING Harry Shaver, 82, is chairman of the board and shares ownership of the com- Grain is Shaver’s main cargo, pany with his two children, Steve and Samantha Shaver. “My father, Harry Shaver, loaded into barges at small still goes to work 6 days a week,” Samantha pointed out. “Through his leadership, ports and docks on the Snake we have successfully grown Shaver into the best company on the river. Without and Upper Columbia River. his vision and his guidance Shaver would not be where we are today.” A typical tow consists of a Steve Shaver, who worked on the tugs for seventeen years, thirteen of those as 3,400-hp towboat pushing four a captain, is company president. “In honor of Shaver’s 135th anniversary, I want 273-by-42-foot barges carrying to thank my brother Steve, who has put his knowledge, passion and heart into this a total of 14,400 tons of company,” declared Samantha. “Growing up on the river, he has constantly worked agricultural products. The tow to make Shaver the best, from improving our equipment and staffing needs to has a total length of over 640 feet that must be maneuvered providing innovative solutions for our customers. He is a tremendous asset to into the 650-by-86-foot locks Shaver and he is the future of this company.” with a maximum loaded draft “We don’t know what the future will bring but we do know that Shaver Trans- of 13.5 feet. Shaver owns portation will be an integral part of the growth of the Columbia River System,” 18 barges, half of which said Steve. “We look forward to collaborating with our customers, vendors and were built by Zidell Marine partners to make a difference in shipping and barging for generations to come.” Corporation in Portland. Samantha Shaver summed up the company’s remarkable 135-year history this way: “At Shaver Transportation we have nearly 100 dedicated employees, including reliable dispatchers, knowledgeable vice-presidents and office man- agers, talented engineers, and experienced captains and deckhands. As a fifth generation Shaver, I take great pride when I say our employees are an extension of our family. “

Congratulations to Shaver Transportation on their 135th anniversary from Aasgard Summit, Bowditch Marine and EMN Medical Bill Review Services.

Keep on Towing!

www.pacmar.com • July 2015 • Pacifi c Maritime 25