William C Daldy
{{Short description|Early 20th c. tugboat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=September 2024}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
| display title = William C Daldy }} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = Daldy dressed.jpg | Ship caption = The tug in 2018 }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = New Zealand | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|NZL|civil}} | Ship name = William C Daldy | Ship namesake = William Daldy | Ship owner = *1935–1977 Auckland Harbour Board
| Ship operator = | Ship registry = Auckland, New Zealand | Ship ordered = | Ship awarded = | Ship builder = Lobnitz & Company, Renfrew | Ship original cost = | Ship yard number = 986 | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = 1 October 1935 | Ship sponsor = | Ship christened = | Ship completed = 1935 | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = February 1936{{cite web |last1=Millatt |first1=Tony |title=The 1935 steam tug "William C Daldy"|url=http://nb-president.org.uk/misc/wc_daldy.php |publisher=Friends of President |access-date=18 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212032626/http://nb-president.org.uk/misc/wc_daldy.php |archive-date=12 February 2012 |location=Dudley |url-status=dead}} | Ship out of service = | Ship recommissioned = | Ship decommissioned = | Ship maiden voyage = | Ship in service = | Ship renamed = | Ship reclassified = | Ship refit = | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship homeport = | Ship identification = *{{IMO Number|5390345}}
| Ship motto = | Ship nickname = | Ship honours = | Ship honors = | Ship captured = | Ship fate = | Ship notes = | Ship badge = | Ship status = In service }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship type = Tugboat | Ship tonnage = {{GRT|346}} {{GT|323}} | Ship displacement = | Ship length = {{convert|126|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|34.6|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draught = | Ship depth = | Ship hold depth = | Ship decks = | Ship deck clearance = | Ship ramps = | Ship ice class = | Ship power = 1,960 ihp | Ship propulsion = 2 x coal-fired steam engines, with 3 furnaces each | Ship sail plan = | Ship speed = {{convert|13|kn|lk=in}} | Ship range = | Ship endurance = | Ship boats = 1 | Ship crew = 10 | Ship time to activate = | Ship notes = | Ship draft = {{convert|15|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} }} |
William C Daldy is a historic steam-powered tugboat operating on the Waitematā Harbour, in Auckland, New Zealand. Named after William Crush Daldy, an Auckland politician, she was built in 1935 and is still an active vessel, maintained by an enthusiast preservation society which charters her out for functions and cruises.
History
The tug was built in 1935 by Lobnitz & Company in Renfrew, Scotland for the Auckland Harbour Board. She has a bollard pull of about 17 tons, and is fired by two coal-burning boilers,{{cite web |title=William C Daldy |url=http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=11367 |website=Clydeships |access-date=6 November 2019}} making her one of the strongest such tugs still afloat.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10419937 |title=Old ladies take to the drink |last=Bailey |first=Robin |date=20 January 2007 |work=The New Zealand Herald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304212212/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10419937 |archive-date=4 March 2016|access-date=3 December 2011}}
In 1958, she prevented one of the pre-assembled main sections of the Auckland Harbour Bridge (then just being constructed over the Waitematā Harbour) from being damaged or lost in a major storm. Strong winds had come up as a construction barge was floating the 1,200-ton structure section into place, and manoeuvring boats were unable to keep it under control. The William C Daldy took up station and kept up the pull for over 36 uninterrupted hours before the wind subsided, burning 40 tons of coal.{{cite web |title=Daldy Saves Aucklands' Harbour Bridge |url=http://daldy.com/2009/04/30/daldy-saves-aucklands-harbour-bridge/ |publisher=W C Daldy Preservation Society |access-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110922032734/http://daldy.com/2009/04/30/daldy-saves-aucklands-harbour-bridge/ |archive-date=22 September 2011 |location=Auckland |url-status=dead}}
The harbour board were intending in 1977 to dispose of the tug for scrapping, but she was instead leased in 1978 (and in 1989 purchased for $1) by an enthusiast organisation, the William C Daldy Preservation Society, which subsequently kept her in working trim, hiring her out for functions and charter cruises. Latterly the vessel was docked in Viaduct Harbour in Auckland city centre, though she had a number of berths around the harbour over time.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10489536 |title=Chugging around on a summer's day |last=Rudman |first=Brian |authorlink=Brian Rudman |date=29 January 2008 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=3 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002132106/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ibrian-rudmani-chugging-around-on-a-summers-day/4OY7W4XKEDLKGMXKLK7IDMBAXY/?c_id=466&objectid=10489536 |archive-date=2 October 2023}}
In May 2023, it was revealed that, following a period of reduced income and maintenance during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently, the cost of survey and repairs to maintain her seaworthiness and certification to carry passengers in September would be about NZ$1 million, requiring urgent funding support.{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Caroline |title=Sink or swim: The future of Aotearoa's largest operating steam ship is at risk |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300868739/sink-or-swim-the-future-of-aotearoas-largest-operating-steam-ship-is-at-risk |access-date=2 October 2023 |work=Stuff |publisher=Stuff Ltd |date=7 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002143403/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300868739/sink-or-swim-the-future-of-aotearoas-largest-operating-steam-ship-is-at-risk |archive-date=2 October 2023 |location=Wellington, New Zealand}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.daldy.com/ The Tug William C Daldy Society Inc] (official website)