daldy.com » History

W C Daldy Plans

Webmaster — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:36:30 +0000

For a schematic layout of the tug Map 1 or Map 2. Please note that these may take some time to download if you are on a dialup modem as they are high resolution images! A small donation would be appreciated and can be made via the Donate button on the Home Page!

Working Years

Webmaster — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 02:14:29 +0000

Here is a captioned pictorial essay of the history of the tug during her working career with the Auckland Harbour Board from 1936 – 1977. The images are not necessarily in chronological order. Images contain more view than the thumbnail!

All of the images on this website are copyright and may not be reproduced without permission from the owner. Hign resolution copies are available on request.

[View with PicLens]

For more shipping images go to SeapixOnline

Construction & Delivery

Webmaster — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:54:35 +0000

Completed for a cost of £40,000 (a sizeable sum during the midst of the great depression) in 1935 by Lobnitz & Co on the Clyde, Renfrew, Scotland hull No. 987, the William C Daldy departed for her new home in Auckland, New Zealand. Upon arrival in her home port on 30/01/1936 after a voyage of 82 days, she was
dry-docked for inspection. Let the pictures say the rest!

For a schematic layout of the tug Map 1 or Map 2. Please note that these may take some time to download if you are on a dialup modem as they are high resolution images!

‘William C Daldy’ Bow view in frame

30-Jul-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ Stern view in frame

30-Jul-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ Bow view 85% plated

14-Aug-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ Stern view 85% plated

14-Aug-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ Bow view before launching

01-Oct-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ Stern view before launching

01-Oct-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ Being launched

01-Oct-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ in fitting out basin after launch

01-Oct-1935 NZNMM

Arrival of Auckland Harbour Board’s new tug.

31-Jan-1936 &copyNZ Herald

‘William C Daldy’ in Calliope dry dock for inspection prior to

acceptance by Auckland Harbour Board

Feb-1936

‘William C Daldy’ in Calliope dry dock for inspection prior to

acceptance by Auckland Harbour Board

5-Feb-1936 Auckland Star

Arrival in Auckland

30-Jan-1936 Auckland Star

600 ft coil of 20in Manilla rope being removed from King’s Wharf.

The rope weighs 3tons 13cwt and will be used by the Harbour Board’s new tug, WCD

10-Dec-1936 &copyNZ Herald

Large rope fender, weighing over 3 1/2 tons being fitted to W C Daldy

Harbour Board members and guests en route to Tiri Tiri Matangi Island

26-Feb-1936

Fremantle Star

Webmaster — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 03:29:17 +0000

“Beats me how nobody was killed,” said John Malster, relief fireman on the Auckland tug, William C. Daldy, today. ”You could call it a saga of good luck.” Townas Bray, a general hand on a Harbour Board floating crane. is shown working away with a crowbar on the buckled bow of the tug, today. The damage may take four to five weeks to repair. Mr Malster was one of two crewmen taken to Auckland Hospital on Saturday after the tug and the ship she was berthing, the Fremantle Star collided. The other man, who was relief engineer Barry Watkins. Both were later allowed to go home.

The collision put a sizeable dent in the 8400-ton Fremantle Star and has put the tug out of action possibly for four or five weeks, Mr Malster had the luckiest escape.
After stoking the boilers he had just gone on deck for a breath of fresh air when the accident happened. If I’d stayed down there a minute longer, I’d have had one of the fire doors open, and I’d have been swamped in red hot clinker,” he said. What amazed crew members, is that none of the steam pipes was fractured by the force of the collision.
This would have scalded to death anybody within the “line of fire.” As it is, the 40-year-old steam tug – the Auckland Harbour Board’s oldest – looked a mess today.
The force of a collision had pushed the three ton rope fender on the bow deep into the hull, buckling plates up to 4 feet back from the bow. Down in the engine room the two big boilers – about 15 tons each – had moved and are believed to have cracked their mountings.
The stokehold was waist deep in half-burnt coal which travelled furiously from the furnaces, just after the collision. The first thought that the crew was to get the fires out as quickly as possible to avoid any danger of a boiler explosion. An engine room telegraph failure caused the collision. The ship’s master, Captain Albert Moku Moku could only watch helplessly as the tug ploughed towards the freighter at an estimated 5 knots.
Mr Malster said he had just walked onto the for’ard deck when he saw the collision looming. ” I ran halfway back towards the stern of the ship – then the bang came. That slammed me onto my back, and I tumbled all the way back to the for’ard deck again,” he said.
Auckland Harbour Master Captain C. R. Blair said some idea as to the extent of the damage should be known later today after an inspection by surveyors. It is understood that the board is prepared to hire a tug from the Northland Harbour Board if an emergency arises while the William C. Daldy is out of action. With the tug Aucklander out of action for maintenance, the port is left with only two other tugs.

There are scanned copies of the official accident reports available below:

‘William C Daldy’ Telegraph Failure report Page 1
&copy NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion
15-Feb-75

‘William C Daldy’ Telegraph Failure report Page 2
&copy NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion
15-Feb-75

‘William C Daldy’ and ‘Fremantle Star’ Collision Report Page 1
&copy NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion
18-Feb-75

‘William C Daldy’ and ‘Fremantle Star’ Collision Report Page 2
&copy NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion
18-Feb-75

‘William C Daldy’ – Accident repair estimate Page 1
&copy NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion
26-Feb-75

‘William C Daldy’ – Accident repair estimate Page 2
&copy NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion
26-Feb-75

Daldy Saves Aucklands’ Harbour Bridge

Webmaster — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:35:36 +0000

Back in December 1958 during construction, the large centre portion weighing 1200 Tons was being floated into place. A nasty low weather front with gale force winds quickly moved in and the centre section began floating out of control up the harbour. Harry Julian’s tugs were unable to hold it in place and W C Daldy came to the rescue performing steadily for over 36 hours saving Aucklands’ bridge consuming about 40 tonnes of prime South Island coal in the process.

Auckland Harbour Bridge centre section

Auckland Harbour Bridge Construction

Daldy saves Auckland Harbour Bridge

Historical Document Archive

Webmaster — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:04:40 +0000

I found a bag full of old documents in the galley one day so I scanned them for posterity. Here are copies for you to read! If you would like a higher resolution copy EMAIL ME and I’ll do my best to send you one.
As the images below are large in size they may take some time to load. If the image looks small when loaded, click on it to enlarge. Please click your BACK button to return to the site! Dial-up users please be patient!

Feb 1936 – Page 1 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

Feb 1936 – Page 2 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

Mar 1936 – Page 3 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

Mar 1936 – Page 4 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

Apr 1936 – Page 5 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

Apr 1936 – Page 6 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

May 1936 – Page 7 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

May 1936 – Page 8 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

June 1936 – Page 9 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

June 1936 – Page 10 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

July 1936 – Page 11 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

July 1936 – Page 12 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

August 1936 – Page 13 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

August 1936 – Page 14 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

September 1936 – Page 15 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

September 1936 – Page 16 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

October 1936 – Page 17 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

October 1936 – Page 18 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

November 1936 – Page 19 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

November 1936 – Page 20 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

December 1936 – Page 21 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

December 1936 – Page 22 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

January 1942 – Page 153 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

January 1942 – Page 154 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

February 1942 – Page 155 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

February 1942 – Page 156 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

March 1942 – Page 157 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

March 1942 – Page 158 – W C Daldy Chief Engineer’s Log book
Copyright
W C Daldy Society archives

Tender prices to supply a new tug Page 1
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL 34-38

Tender prices to supply a new tug Page 1 part2
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL 34-38

‘William C Daldy’ – The Shipbuilder and Marine Engine Builder article Page 1
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL 34-38

‘William C Daldy’ – picture from The Shipbuilder and Marine Engine Builder article Page 1
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL 34-38

‘William C Daldy’ – The Shipbuilder and Marine Engine Builder article Page 2
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL 34-38

‘William C Daldy’ – plan from The Shipbuilder and Marine Engine Builder article Page 2
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL 34-38

‘William C Daldy’ – The Shipbuilder and Marine Engine Builder article Page 3
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL 34-38

‘William C Daldy’ – letter from Lobnitz with tender details
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL 34-38

‘William C Daldy’ – letter from E H Mitchell about tenders Page 1
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL 34-38

‘William C Daldy’ – letter from E H Mitchell about tenders Page 2
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL 34-38

‘William C Daldy’ Telegraph Failure report Page 1
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion

‘William C Daldy’ Telegraph Failure report Page 2
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion

‘William C Daldy’ and ‘Fremantle Star’ Collision Report Page 1
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion

‘William C Daldy’ and ‘Fremantle Star’ Collision Report Page 2
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion

‘William C Daldy’ – Accident repair estimate Page 1
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion

‘William C Daldy’ – Accident repair estimate Page 2
Copyright
NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion

‘William C Daldy’ steam diagram
Copyright
W C Daldy Society via Don Handley

align =”center” accident report a general
File size 146196 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

accident report b general
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Copyright Courtney Edmonds

accident report c general
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Copyright Courtney Edmonds

accident report d general
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Copyright Courtney Edmonds

accident report e general
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Copyright Courtney Edmonds

accident report a funny unfortunate splash to the eyes
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Copyright Courtney Edmonds

accident report propeller fouled
File size 211851 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

accident report telefail Fremantle Star
File size 230938 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

accident report telefaila Fremantle Star
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Copyright Courtney Edmonds

accident report telefailb Fremantle Star
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Copyright Courtney Edmonds

accident report telefailc Fremantle Star
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Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Old advert for Boiler treatment
File size 76266 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Akhb flagstaff signals for sail and steam
File size 77319 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Lloyds boiler ticket1
File size 190928 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Lloyds boiler ticket2
File size 194510 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Lloyds boiler ticket3
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Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Lloyds boiler ticket4
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Copyright Courtney Edmonds

crew list
File size 121091 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Fairstar
File size 102299 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Fouled towline
File size 220985 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Horsepower calculations
File size 135470 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Propeller fouled
File size 97016 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Radio telephone
File size 150033 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Lifesaving training memo
File size 156997 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Monterey bumped by Daldy
File size 122873 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Bow towing ropes
File size 101044 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Arcadia departue 1972
File size 194105 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

Passenger ship list 1973 the only time four passenger liners have been berthed at Auckland port at the same time, due to Galilieo Gelilees delayed departure.
File size 270478 Kb
Copyright Courtney Edmonds

If you would like a higher resolution copy EMAIL ME and I’ll do my best to send you one.

Running Mates

Webmaster — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:17:58 +0000

This page is dedicated to the working companions of the tug. She worked with many other finely built craft during her 41 years of service, some of them still afloat. This page has been specifically developed so you can see them in action. My favourite was the Aucklander! (Ironically now in Wellington)

Te Awhina 1
© NZNMM
1960s

Te Awhina 2 – 1968
© NZNMM
1968

Daldy and William C. Daldy on retirement day.
© NZNMM
Mar-1977

Orsova assisted by William C Daldy and Te Awhina berthing Princes Wharf Auckland
© NZNMM
DateUnknown

Orcades and Oriana. Daldy and Aucklander
© William C Daldy Trust
DateUnknown

mv Haparangi arriving Auckland from Liverpool.
© Tony Millatt
9/09/1964

Aucklander by Admiralty steps
© Chris Lego
circa late 1960s

ORIANA (1960/41923grt/IMO 5264742) berthing in Auckland, New Zealand assisted by Auckland Harbour Board tugs AUCKLANDER (1958/454grt/IMO 5030373. Renamed TAPUHI 2), TE AWHINA (1968/220grt/IMO 6818576) and WILLIAM C DALDY (1935/348grt/IMO 5390345).
© Tony Millatt
7-Mar-1964

Te Awhina2 berths Galileo Galilei – 1971
© SeapixOnline
1971

About W C Daldy

Webmaster — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:41:07 +0000

The William C Daldy is a coal-fired steam tug, built at Renfrew on the Clyde in Scotland for the Auckland Harbour Board in 1935. After an 82 day delivery voyage to New Zealand, she entered service in February 1936, handling shipping in the port of Auckland. She served the Harbour Board well for 41 years and by the time she was retired in 1977 was one of the last working coal fired tugs in the world.

TST William C Daldy undergoing sea trials 1935

There had been plans to convert her to oil firing or to re-engine her with twin diesels, but they came to nothing. On retirement, the tug did not find her way to a ship-breaking yard, but passed into the hands of a
preservation society for the princely sum of $1. The Auckland Harbour Board then donated $1 back to the newly formed society. As a result, she is still active on Auckland Harbour in the North Island of New Zealand, after a career of more than 70 years.

The Daldy is not a small vessel, she has a length of 126 feet (38.4 metres), a beam of 32 feet (9.75 metres) and a draft of 15 feet (4.5 metres). She is not slow either – she did 13.4 knots on trials and if her bottom is clean, she can still do over 13 knots. A tug’s towing power is measured in bollard pull and the William C Daldy was conservatively measured at 17 tons on trials in 1935. Even the new motor tugs in Auckland in the 1960s were less than this, but her replacement, the 1977-built Daldy came in at 24 tons bollard pull.

Having set the background, let us look at the heart of
the vessel. The tug has her original two ‘Scotch’ coal fired boilers. Each boiler is 13ft 6in diameter and 11ft 6in long and has 3 furnaces. Thus, the firemen have six fires to tend and if the tug is working hard the boilers will have an appetite over a ton an hour. On a good day, there will be 4 stokers on board, two down and two up, swapping over every 30 minutes. The coal is in bunkers on each side of the vessel, alongside the boilers (up to 50 tons each side). If the bunkers are full, the coal finds its way into the stokehole without effort. If the bunkers are empty, then someone has to go into the bunker and shovel the coal into the door first, a process known as trimming. It is dirty dusty work and these days just part of the fireman’s job. There is also an aft bunker which can accomodate a further 80 tons of coal for long voyages.

The maximum boiler pressure is 180 psi. If they are stone cold, a fire would be lit in each centre furnace 3 days before a sailing. It would be fired during the day and banked at night. About 2 hours before sailing, there should be 100 psi on the clock, and the wing fires would then be laid and lit with hot coals from the centre fires. There will, of course, be some ash under the centres by now, and this is normally put ashore – by shovelling into steel drums and hoisting up on deck with the one man-power winch.

Steam from the boilers is fed aft to the engine room, to a pair of triple expansion engines of the classic marine design which became popular in the 1880s. They are fairly large and each engine is 950 SHP or 1000IHP,(Evidence of more power can be found here from original card readings done in longhand by the chief engineer on delivery voyage) directly coupled to an 11 1/2 foot diameter propeller. Whilst the engines can be reversed by hand, they are fitted with a steam reverser and will reverse very quickly in an emergency. There will normally be 3 engineers in the engine room – one at the controls of each engine and one oiling, checking water levels etc.

By the time the steam reaches the low pressure cylinders, it is at about atmospheric pressure and it then exhausts into a large surface condenser. Duplicated air pumps remove air from the condenser and pump the condensate forward to duplicated feed pumps to be returned to the boilers. Check valves on each boiler are adjusted to keep the water level the same in the two boilers.

All the auxiliaries in the engine room are steam and all were duplicated or have alternative means as Lloyds stipulated this as a requirement for insurance due to the long delivery voyage to New Zealand. There is a diesel emergency fire pump hidden away in the lower focsle. So, in addition to the pumps already mentioned, in the engine room you will also find the seawater circulating pump, a bilge pump, a general service pump which can supply the condenser should the circulating pump fail, a freshwater pump and a generator for the electric power used on board.

The original generator was replaced in 1956 with a more powerful 15Kw unit salvaged from the minesweeper Kiwi. HMNZS Kiwi (T102) was a Bird class minesweeper of the Royal New Zealand Navy. She was commissioned in 1941 for minesweeping and anti-submarine roles. From 1948 to 1956 she functioned as a training ship. With her sister ship Moa, Kiwi rammed and neutralised the Japanese submarine I1 at Guadalcanal! Kiwi was named after the Kiwi bird from New Zealand and was the first of three ships with this name to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy.

On the main deck level there is yet more. A “Donkin’s Patent” steering engine drives the rudder. This is the only remaining engine of this type known to be still in existence. The boilers are fed by forced draught, supplied by a Howden’s Patent steam-powered fan. There are two steam winches on deck, one forward and one aft, for working lines. Finally, the galley is equipped with a steam powered urn for making tea.

A special thanks to Tony Millatt for help with the compilation of this text. Cheers Tony!

1977 Daldy

Webmaster — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:22:19 +0000

DALDY (1977/226grt/IMO 7519127)
assists with yet another arrival at the Ports of Auckland, New Zealand.

Daldy and William C. Daldy

Steam Tug Lyttelton

Webmaster — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:28:00 +0000

The Tug ‘Lyttelton’ Preservation Society is a non-profit organisation whose aims and objects are to restore and maintain the vintage steam Tug ‘Lyttelton’ in working order, to promote public interest in the vessel and make it possible for passengers to travel on it by means of public cruises and chartered voyages.
The tug Lyttelton and her engines were built in Scotland in 1907 by Fergusson brothers Ltd. of Glasgow, and was sailed out to Lyttelton through the Suez canal which had only recently been opened.

You can visit the official Lyttelton website by Clicking Here!