This web site () is dedicated to the display of pictures of and information about towboats on the rivers of the United States. Over the years, quite a few tugboats have been incorporated as well. For pictures of and information about riverboats other than towboats or tugboats, check out . One of the many joys of living and boating on the Mississippi River is the opportunity to observe the passage of large towboats plying their way up and downstream, engaging in commerce, carrying huge loads of grain, coal, petroleum products and other goods. Over the years I accumulated a collection of pictures of towboats as they passed by our home. Originally, this web site was to display those pictures, mostly taken by me in various locations around St. Paul, MN, primarily near mile 819.4 on the Upper Mississippi River (UMR), about twenty miles downstream of St. Paul. However, a funny thing happened along the way. Thanks to the efforts of many fine folks who have contributed pictures, information and assistance (see CREDITS below), this web site can no longer be considered as primarily devoted to one area. It now contains pictures taken in locations up and down the Mississippi, Ohio, and other rivers. Some of the earlier photographs were taken long ago, while the latest ones were taken in the last few weeks or days. Alas, I no longer live on the river, so my personal opportunities for towboat photography are much more limited. So I must depend on you and others with an interest in towboats for most of the photos displayed in my Towboat Gallery.
If you have good photographs you have taken of towboats on the Mississippi, or the Ohio, or any of the Western Rivers, and you would like them displayed here, send them to me via an e-mail attachment, and I will post them along with the proper credits. I may adjust color balance, brightness, contrast, etc., and/or crop them as I feel necessary, although I'll try to disturb your work as little as possible. Photos are typically displayed here at 640 x 480 resolution, but I prefer starting with higher resolution photos so that there is more leeway for cropping. My e-mail is on broadband, so any resolution that's not too painful for you to upload is OK. Please be patient; this is a one-man hobby operation, and sometimes it takes quite a while for me to get your photos posted.
Disclaimer:
Dick's Towboat Gallery is a private, non profit entity, a one-man hobby operation. It is not affiliated with any company or companies in the towboating or any other industry or business. Vessel or company names and/or logos that appear in photographs, or in accompanying information, are incidental, and do not imply any association.
There are certain expenses associated with maintaining this web site, among them the cost of the domain registration, and the cost of hosting the site, so that viewers can visit it. In recent years, a great new resource has become available, an online version of the main reference I use, The Inland River Record. Alas, it is more costly than any of the other expenses associated with maintaining this site. If you find this site useful and/or entertaining, and would really like to contribute to its support, feel free to donate any amount you choose. Just click on the yellow "donate" button, which is located right here:
A similar button is located near the bottom of each page on this site. I hope you find it useful.
CREDITS
Where known, the size and power of the towboat, documentation number, ownership and name change history are shown along with the photograph(s). Boat pages added or updated starting in mid-December of 2010 also contain ownership history as well as engine and machinery specifications. Most of this and other information shown has been derived from the 2019 and earlier editions of the "INLAND RIVER RECORD", formerly edited by the late , who will be sorely missed; currently edited by the esteemed Jeff L. Yates, who is also a valued contributor. Copies are available through "The Waterways Journal".
Others who have contributed photographs and/or information to the Towboat Gallery are listed below
(Names in black are those who are known to have since passed away):
Eric Adams Rex Agnew Andrew Albertson Bill Alden Kenny Allain
Joseph Allemond Matt Allen Jim Alt Scott Alvey John Ambrose
Ron Anderson Joe Angert Steve Antonacci Jim Armstrong Steve Authement
Jimmy Bade Floyd Badeaux Myron Balchin, Sr. John Banicki John Barnhill
J. T. Barrois Capt. Les Barrois Dave Bauerbach J S Beelman Mickie Bello
Jonathon Bennett Charles Bernhardt Ron Besanson Rusty Besanson Mike Bevins
Roger Blanchard Mike Blitgen Manfred Boehmer Carel Boon Tracy Bowie
Kevin Box Chris Brewer David Bridges Chris Brown D. C. Brown
Joshua Brown Larry Brown Ted F. Brunt Josh Burgess
Kyle Caddell Steve Campion Mark L. Carl Capt. Jerry Carlton
Rex Carlyle Bill Carter Danny Casey Heather Cecil Gale Chapman III
William P. Cheshire Ed Christianson Joe Cieslak Yolanda Ciulla-Griebe
John_Claypool Steve Colby Bruce Congdon Katie Cook Capt. Matt Crafton
Lee Creech Craig Creppel Kasey Cummings Jeff Cumptan Glen Daigrepont
Dan Dalrymple John E. Dawson Linda Day Buz Delaney Robert DeLuca
Albert Dewailly David Dewey Greg Dickerson Shawn Dickerson Don Dixon
Phil Dufrene Todd Dunbar Greg Duncan Chris_Dunn Rory Dupre
Rob Ebner Capt. Sam Elliott Barbara Agnew Ellis Frank Ellis John Ellis
John L. Evans Ray Falk Capt. Bob Felch Fred_Ferraro R. J. Floyd
Bill_Fryer Kent Furlong Tony_Gambarella John_Gardner William Gaudet
Tom Geier Justin Gerard Chick Gerber Capt. Tom Gerry Jonathon Gibbs
Kim Gleason Trevor_Gonzales Clyde Gousset Joe Graham Andy Grant
Chris Graves Tracy Green Michael Gremillion Barry Griffith Don Grot
Bill Haines Dusty Hale Harley Hall Billy Haney David Hansen
Scott Hardin Jeanette Harmon Jim Harris Perry Haupin Mark Haury
Jason Hausman Joe Hawkins Capt. Brandon Hayes Thomas Hegland Rick Helmerdinger
Michael Herschler Robby Hess David Hibbs Dave Hicks Gayla Hill
Kerry Hippe John Holbrook Mark Hovis Jon Hudson Steve Huffman
Judi Hughes Steve Hutchison David Jackson Kris Jacobi Chad Janise
Woody Jasperson Jonathon Jewell Eric M. Johnson Larry Johnson Stan Johnson Tom Johnson
Tony Johnston Zane Johnston Erek Kahl Frank Kammerer V. J. Kennedy
Jessica Kirby Rolf Klein Mark Kline David Knopf Ladonna_Knoth
Drew Kossen Sue Kossow Chuck Krwszewski Mark Kuntz Richard L. Kurtz
David L. Matt Lagarde Blaine Landry George Lange Kyle Larson
Tim Laughlin James Lee Chad Leeper Todd Lehman Scott Lerille
J. R. Liemberg Justin Lunceford Brent Maletic Marv Market
Ed Mars R Martin Steven Martin Shawn Martinez W. Matherne Arloe Mayne
Fred McCabe Jason McDaniel Sheldon McDonald Pete McGuire Jason McPhearson
Karen Meder Darrin Melvin Jim Mihalek Jerry Milam Chad Miller Joe Miller
John R. Miller Capt. Tim Miller Greg Milliken Ed Moe Karl Morley
Walter Morris Matt Morrow Benjamin Mudd Fran Mullen
Henry Mullen Chuck Myers C. R. Neale III Will Nelson Mark Nichols
Adolfo Nunez Mike Oliger Joe Orban Bill Otten
Larry Parfait Jr. Tom Parks Robert Partridge John Payne Hayden Pearson
John Peck Jerry Pennington Marian Phillips Mark Phillips Travis Phillips
Sonny Pierce Bill Pilger Jason Pitre Tommy Plaisance Nick Ploysa
Lee Powell Tim & Lori Powell Terry Prather James Pyle Michael Quinton
Rudi Rabe Ed Rahe Thomas Rasberry Tom Rhoden Ron Richardson
Bobby Riley John Riley Don Rodriguez Joshua Romero Sean Romero
Adam Ross Dan Ross Jim Ross Jeremy Runde Bill Sailor Eric Schade
Ron Scheider Linley Schmidt Joe Schneid Brian Sedlvy Chris Shelby
Howard Simpson Laurie Skrivan Capt. Billy Smith Dale Smith David Smith
Patrick Smith Ray Spencer Danny Stafford Greg Staton
Darren Steuber Dustin Stewart Ron Stricklen George Stringham Shane Strouse
Capt. Laurence Suire Dennis Sullivan Jondon Sullivan Robert Swango Nels Swanson
Jeremy_Tardy Dustin Taylor Roger Theide Andy Thomas Lee Thomas
David Thompson William Tippitt Bill Toninato Steve Tregre
Chris Verdun Howard C. Vidrine Gregory Vogel Tom Waller Ralph Welch
Paul Welsh David Wetzel Rance White Edward Wilhite Timothy Wilkerson
Trey Wilkinson Rob Williams Shawn Williams Max Wolf Scott Wood
Chad Wray Jeff L. Yates Patrick Yough Brian Zody
Many thanks for your contributions. They are greatly appreciated.
UNIDENTIFIED TOWBOATS
A few of the towboats in this collection are unidentified, either because the name was not visible due to the angle of the photograph, or it was unreadable. These may be displayed under the heading Unidentified Towboats. If you recognize one of these unidentified vessels, please send me an e-mail, using the link near the bottom of every page. I would love to have all the boats in the gallery identified.
SITE NAVIGATION
Click on the main image of this home page or on any towboat name in the menus on the left, and you will be taken to a page containing the photo(s) of that towboat. Click on any image in the thumbnails list below the menus on any page, and a larger version of that image will replace the main image on the then-current page. Clicking on one of the arrows next to the thumbnails list on any page will rotate the list up or down. Clicking on the or links above the main image on any page will cause a larger version of the next or previous image in the thumbnails list to replace the current image. Clicking on the link above the main image will cause all the photos for that boat to be shown one after the other, continuing until some other link is selected. Enjoy!
SLIDE SHOW FEATURE
There's a Slide Show feature that works for all Towboat Gallery pages other than the home page. If a page has more than one photo, a link will be located between the and links, just above the main photo. Clicking on the link will start a slide show of all the photos of that boat. The slide show will continue until you make another menu selection, click on a thumbnail image, or click on one of the , or links. Enjoy!
MENU FEATURES
When you first enter the Towboat Gallery, you will see a "Select Desired Menu" menu with a choice of several menus; the first shows the boats in alphabetic order by name; a second menu with the boats in order by length, longest first; a third menu with the boats in order by power, highest first; a fourth menu with the boats in alphabetic order by builder; a fifth menu with boats listed by number of screws/engines, quadruple to single; a sixth menu with the boats listed by age, oldest first; and a seventh menu listing the credited photographers in alphabetical order, followed by a list of the boats where their photographs appear. Once you make your selection, the menu that you chose is the one that will continue to be shown, unless you decide to switch menus. Each menu will contain an entry labeled "Select a Different Menu"; clicking on that entry will return you to the "Select Desired Menu" menu. ENHANCED BOAT NAMES MENU
There's one other menu option, the Enhanced Boat Names Menu, which works a little differently. If you select that option, a larger menu will appear in the middle of the page, with letter buttons to get you quickly into the menu wherever you want to be (A, B,...etc.). Another difference: when you click on a boat name in the Enhanced Boat Names Menu, the page will display in a new tab. Both menus ordered by boat name now have all the names by which any of the boats in the Towboat Gallery have ever been known, whether we have photos of them with that name or not; when we don't have a photo of a boat with its current name, that name will be enclosed in parentheses. If you select a name for which we don't have a photo, you'll be taken to the page for that boat's current name.
TOWBOAT PHOTO ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
             
                         
COFFEE MUGS    BASEBALL CAPS    T-SHIRTS         SWEATSHIRTS
   $16.99-$18.99                 $22.99             $22.99-$24.99         $34.99-$39.99
We have for some time offered our valued viewers coffee mugs with Dick's Towboat Gallery photos. But we now offer baseball caps, T-shirts, and sweatshirts with Dick's Towboat Gallery photos as well. The mugs are 11 oz. mugs with a towboat image wrapped around the mug, similar to the mug image above. The baseball caps are high quality white caps with strap size adjustment, similar to the baseball cap image above. The T-shirts are quality premium T-shirts with a towboat image front and center, similar to the T-shirt image above. The sweatshirts are quality grey sweatshirts with a towboat image front and center, similar to the sweatshirt image above. Not all photos in the gallery are suitable for mugs, caps, T-shirts, or sweatshirts, but many are. Not all of those that are suitable will be available right away, as it will take quite some time to process the thousands of photos on the site to create the appropriately adapted mug, cap, T-shirt, and sweatshirt images. We'll be adding new ones whenever we update the Towboat Gallery.
If a towboat photo in which you're interested is available on a mug or cap, there will be a notice under the image similar to the following:
Photo Mug & Cap available!
Clicking on it will replace the main photo with an adapted version of the photo, along with purchase selection and payment information.
If a towboat photo in which you're interested is available on a T-shirt or sweatshirt, there will be a notice under the image similar to the following:
Photo T-shirt & sweatshirt available!
Clicking on it will replace the main photo with an adapted version of the photo, along with purchase selection and payment information. If a particular boat photo has all of these items available, the above notices will be combined into a single notice.
If you find a boat photo that you think would make a good mug, cap, or T-shirt, but it doesn't have such a notice, use the email contact link near the bottom of every page to tell us about it, and if it works we'll be happy to add it to the list.
The adapted images have a colored border at the top, with the boat's name and its official Coast Guard registration number. There will be a border of the same color at the bottom with the legend "Dick's Towboat Gallery". Border color is assigned somewhat randomly when the adapted images are created, from the following list of color samples:
If the color of the borders on the adapted image works for you, simply place your order by selecting one of the appropriate options, then clicking on the "ADD to CART" button located below the adapted photo image. If you would prefer a different color for the borders, use the email contact link near the bottom of every page to tell us which of the colors you'd prefer, and we'll work with you to make it happen.
(Click here to see a page with a slideshow of samples to show you what the adapted photos and the mugs will look like)
(Click here to see a page with a slideshow of samples to show you what the adapted photos and the caps will look like)
(Click here to see a page with a slideshow of samples to show you what the adapted photos and the T-shirts will look like)
(Click here to see a page with a slideshow of samples to show you what the adapted photos and the sweatshirts will look like)
Special Crew Member Offer: Buy one of our Tee or Sweatshirts for a member of the crew of the boat, be it yourself, a family member or a friend, and send us a photo of them wearing the shirt, on the boat, with the boat name visible (bow, stern, name board, tow knee, hull, wherever), and we'll post the photo on the boat's web page and refund half the purchase price.
BOAT & RIVER LINKS
Here are links to other interesting Towboat and/or River related sites. If you like my Towboat Gallery, I'm sure you will like these sites as well. Enjoy!
Want to donate to the support of Dick's Towboat Gallery? Just click on this yellow "donate" button:
* Important Copyright Information *
Except where otherwise credited,
all photographs on this site are
Copyright Richard E. Dunbar 1991-2021
Any and all other rights reserved.
All contributed photographs are
Copyright Credited Contributor 1991-2021
Any and all other rights reserved.
Photographs from this site are not to be downloaded for publication of any kind without first obtaining permission from Dick's Towboat Gallery and the Credited Contributor.