South Street Seaport Museum's W.O. Decker To Participate In Waterford Tugboat Roundup

South Street Seaport Museum announces that a member of its historic fleet, the 1930 tugboat W.O. Decker, will compete in the Waterford Tugboat Roundup on September 10 & 11, 2022 in Waterford, NY. The Tugboat Roundup is a two-day gathering of tugboats, workboats and barges to celebrate the maritime heritage of the Northeast Inland Waterways. The festival features a tug parade, tug tours, boat rides, tug talks, competitions, fireworks, children's activities, vendors, food, and more. For more information, a detailed schedule, and more, visit seaportmuseum.org/tugboat-roundup.

The last surviving New York-built, wooden tugboat W.O. Decker was built in 1930 by the Newtown Creek Towing Company and originally named Russell I, after the towing company's owners. She was renamed W.O. Decker in 1946 after being sold to the Decker family's Staten Island tugboat firm. The tugboat was initially steam-powered and later refitted with a diesel engine. She was donated to the Seaport Museum in 1986 and was refitted with a diesel engine. W.O. Decker is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is an exemplary model of the types of steam tugs that were once an abundant sight in New York Harbor. This unique vessel is a true testament to New York City's maritime heritage, which is a direct factor in the city's global prominence today. For more information, visit seaportmuseum.org/decker.

The South Street Seaport Museum, located in the heart of the historic seaport district in New York City, preserves and interprets the history of New York as a great port city. Founded in 1967, the Museum houses an extensive collection of works of art and artifacts, a maritime reference library, exhibition galleries and education spaces, working nineteenth century print shops, and an active fleet of historic vessels that all work to tell the story of "Where New York Begins." www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org