Necessity, a bold vision and relentless work brought a 71-foot Army tug back to life in just one year.
Some call Matt and Wendy Fogg obsessed; others call them committed. Whatever the label, in a single year the Beaver Island, Mich., couple fully restored Wendy Anne, a 71-foot, 85-ton Army tug (ST2199) launched in 1950, and then took her on a 12-day tour of the Great Lakes that summer.
“This whole project was a huge undertaking and a lot of hard work,” says Matt, 32. “I had been searching for a tug that would meet my needs for a long time.”
Matt captains for the St. James Marine Company, based on Beaver Island. Founded in 2001 to serve the island’s roughly 500 year-round residents, the company hauls freight—building materials, equipment and logs—to and from the island. “There’s a big logging industry here, and we move a lot of timber,” Matt explains. “The tug we had, American Girl, was getting long in the tooth and we needed something more suitable.”
American Girl is a riveted-steel 62-foot tug built in Saginaw, Mich., in 1922. For decades it hauled fruit and supplies on Lake Michigan and later served Beaver Island as a fuel hauler. “She’s a great little workhorse and very fuel efficient,” Matt says, “but after 86 years of service she deserved a lot of TLC.”
Matt’s affection for tugboats goes back to childhood. He grew up in Holland, Mich., and spent summers on Beaver Island, where he rode on a tug owned by his grandfather, Clyde Fogg. Still, he never expected to own one himself. “Funny how life works,” he says.
After earning an engineering degree and a 1,000-ton captain’s license from the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City, Mich., Matt joined St. James Marine in 2001. By 2006 he and his parents agreed the company needed an equipment upgrade, and his father, Jon Fogg, provided the capital. In November 2006 Matt and Wendy found the tug they would restore and went to see her in person.
“It was solid,” Jon recalls. “The bunks were just bare metal frames with cots—very sparse—but the hull and structure had great potential.”
The tug Wendy Anne carries a distinctive history. Built in 1950 at a military yard in Port Everglades, Fla., she is one of three sister tugs constructed during the Cold War era. All three were taken to England and remained dry-docked for nearly 40 years; reportedly they were held overseas as ready craft in case of emergencies. The Wendy Anne did not enter U.S. waters again until she was towed back in 1990, and later served briefly at Fort Eustis, Va., before lying on the hard for several years. In 2003 Ed McDevitt, whose family operates tugs in Boston Harbor, acquired her. One sister now serves as a floating exhibit at the North River Tugboat Museum in Kingston, N.Y.
“The moment we saw Wendy Anne we loved her,” Wendy, 34, says. “The hull was big and secure and in very good condition. The interior needed imagination and care, and we enjoyed designing the layout—early sketches were literally on a paper napkin.”
The Foggs bought Wendy Anne from McDevitt for $35,000 in May 2007 and placed her in D.N. Kelly & Son Shipyard in Fairhaven, Mass., for an extensive refit. “There were no suitable facilities in northern Lake Michigan for a major overhaul,” Matt explains. He and Wendy visited frequently during the project, overseeing work, taking photographs and making decisions on every detail.
The renovation removed the original sparse military bunks and created a new interior with a master cabin and two separate bunk rooms, each with two bunks. They installed a new head and outfitted the tug with a 3508 Caterpillar engine rated at 850 hp, along with a new transmission, plumbing, pumps, motors, electrical controls, fans and generator. The ship’s cable steering was replaced with a hydraulic system. The total investment pushed the project into the six-figure range.
Many original parts and surplus components were donated to the North River Tugboat Museum. Matt named the vessel Wendy Anne in honor of Wendy’s role as interior designer and project partner; her influence shaped the tug’s livable, functional cabin and sleeping quarters.
On Aug. 7—Wendy’s birthday—the Wendy Anne left Fairhaven for sea trials. After a few tweaks and the replacement of a faulty heat exchanger, the couple departed on Aug. 20 at 1 p.m., stopping in Newburgh, N.Y., before heading into the Erie Canal. Family joined the voyage: Wendy’s parents, Don and Sylvia Harwood, met them for part of the canal passage, and Matt’s parents joined in Oswego, N.Y., for the Great Lakes segment.
Wendy Anne cruises comfortably at about 10 knots with a top speed near 12. “The weather was excellent,” Wendy recalls. “We had smooth passages, and the lakes felt vast and impressive. At one point we even swam with our two dogs.”
Both say the Erie Canal was a highlight. “It’s a hidden treasure—so scenic and the water so clear,” Wendy says. “Lake Erie was long and green and beautiful, while Lake Michigan was incredibly clear; you could see the bottom in places.”
After initial sea-trial adjustments, Matt reports the Wendy Anne performed flawlessly for the remainder of the voyage. “It was an invaluable experience to take her out, learn every system and confirm the boat was sound,” he says. The restoration brought a historic Army tug back into active service, providing Beaver Island with a strong, reliable vessel for the years ahead.
This story originally appeared in the January 2009 issue.