Meant for “bigger things,” Scuffy the Tugboat sets off to explore the world. But on his daring adventure Scuffy realizes that home is where he’d rather be, sailing in his bathtub. For over 50 years, parents and children have cherished this classic Little Golden Book.

Tugboat Stories is a modern day Life on the Mississippi, with a touch of Moby Dick (in the detailed yet lyrical description of the boats, their work, and the people that work them), exploring one of the core themes of a uniquely American experience - life on the river - written by one who has lived it in one of the great harbors of the world. Tugboat Stories is a suite of linked stories based on the author's career as a seaman and owner/operator of tugboats working in New York Harbor from 1971 to 1998. The work comprises both a portrayal of the socially complex and deeply traditional world of the harbor community and the narrator's progress within that world from rank beginner to seasoned professional.Within the context of this loose narrative trajectory the author provides a first-hand experience of a unique life - physically demanding, sometimes comic, sometimes crude, often lonely, and, at its core, spiritually compelling. At the time the author entered the New York harbor scene, the tugboat business was still under the sway of 19th century values and practice. Binding agreements were forged by word of mouth. Skill was assessed within the community at large rather than by governmental process, and individuality - to the point of eccentricity - was easily accepted so long as the over-arching criteria of honesty and skill were met. The harbor was still a place where independence found equal place with self discipline and excellence. In a deeper context still, the Harbor and its people at that time shared an ancestry with the very roots of American literature. The Lower Manhattan shoreline where the narrator's boat is tied is the same as that trod by Ishmael in the opening paragraphs of Moby Dick, the river in front is the same as in Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry". The looming Brooklyn Bridge and the harbor dawn are the same as beheld by Hart Crane. The narrator walks in the footprints of the creators of "On the Waterfront" and learns many of the same skills and disciplines as did Mark Twain in Life on the Mississippi. George Matteson lives in New York City and on the coast of Maine with his wife, artist Adele Ursone. He worked in and around NY Harbor and the Northeastern US coast and inland waterways from 1971 to 1999, including running his own tugboat, the Spuyten Duyvil, for 13 years. For some of those years, he not only worked, but also lived on the water.He is the author of Tugboats of New York: An Illustrated History, New York University Press, 2005 and Draggermen: Fishing on George's Bank, Scholastic/Four Winds Press, 1979, and the co-author of The Christmas Tugboat, a children's book, Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin, 2012. He is also an accomplished poet, with an anthology, That Miraculous Land & Other Poems, East River Press, 1982. He curated an exhibition, As Tugs Go By: A History of the Towing Industry in New York Harbor, at the John Noble Maritime Collection, Sailors' Snug Harbor, in Staten Island, New York in March, 2008

Available for the first time as an eBook read by the author! Kevin Lewis and Daniel Kirk team up for another classic rhyming picture book, and bath time has never been so much fun. Tankers, barges, and boats of all shapes and sizes come to life in this aquatic adventure featuring a determined tugboat and his crew. Daniel Kirk’s colorful illustrations and Kevin Lewis’s exuberant narration will make this story a hit with young seafarers everywhere.

Tugboats hold a fascination not only for anyone who has worked aboard a vessel or around a harbor but for many land-bound folks as well. There is something about their chunky, powerful build and their often risky but vital work that excites our interest and admiration. The captains and crews of the tugboats are justifiably proud of what they do, and they have some great stories to tell about the ships and barges they tow or push; the harbors, storms, tides, and dangerous passages they must negotiate; the unions; the pilots; the different designs and capabilties of their boats; and the way the boats and their livelihood are irrevocably changing.

The powerful little tugboat can do big jobs--such as pulling an ocean liner, a cargo ship, barges, even a bridge! It maneuvers the tall ships and tugs the fireworks barge. Stunning paintings of vibrant harbor scenes in every kind of weather illustrate an accessible, informational text written especially for emergent readers. A table of contents and back matter supplement the fun learning experience.

A gorgeously detailed guide to the evolution, design, and role of tugboats, from the earliest days of steam to today’s most advanced ocean-going workboats. From river to harbor to ocean, tugboats are among the most ubiquitous but underappreciated craft afloat. Whether maneuvering ships out from between tight harbor finger piers, pushing rafts of forty barges up the Mississippi, towing enormous oil rigs, or just delivering huge piles of gravel to a river port near you, tugs exude a sense of genial strength guided by the wise experience of their crews. We can admire the precision of their coordination, the determination in their movements, the glow of signal lights at night, silently communicating their condition and intentions to vessels nearby. It is nearly impossible not to be intrigued and impressed by the way tugs work. In Tugboats Illustrated, Paul Farrell traces the evolution, design, and role of tugboats, ranging from the first steam-powered tug to today’s hyper-specialized offshore workboats. Through extensive photographs, dynamic drawings, and enlightening diagrams, he explores the development of these hard-working boats, always shaped by the demands of their waterborne environment, by an ever-present element of danger, and by advancements in technology. Whether making impossible turns in small spaces, crashing through huge swells, pushing or pulling or prodding or coaxing or escorting, we come to understand not only what tugs do, but how physics and engineering allow them to do it. From the deck layout of a nineteenth-century sidewheel tug to the mechanics of barge towing—whether by humans, mules, steam or diesel engines—to the advantages of various types and configurations of propulsion systems, to the operation of an oil rig anchor-handling tug/supply vessel, Tugboats Illustrated is a comprehensive tribute to these beloved workhorses of the sea and their intrepid crews.

While square-rigged sailing ships, steamboats and ferries, and ever-larger cruise and cargo-carrying vessels have made their mark on Puget Sound's maritime history, no other vessels have captured the imagination of shore-bound seafarers like tugboats. Beginning in the 1850s when the first steam-powered tugboats arrived in the Sound from the East Coast via San Francisco, company owners and their crews competed fiercely for business, towing ships, log rafts, and barges. The magnetic attraction of powerful, tough tugs both large and small is unexplainable but enduring. This book, featuring about 200 rare historic images and carefully researched text, tells the colorful story of tug boating on Puget Sound.