Tugboat Enthusiasts Society

Carl Wayne's Tugboat Database

Who was Carl Wayne?
This is what Carl published on his website about himself: "I am Carl Wayne. I've been a tug-nut since my first ride on a tug in 1952 when I was about 14. My major interest have been Cornell Steamboat Co., tugs operating on the Hudson River and New York Harbor, and has been expanding ever since. I am a member of the Tugboat Enthusiasts Society since around 1989 or so, and the Steamship Historical Society since around 1956."
Carl died suddenly in 2002. He was a gentle man and a gentleman who is missed by the tugboat enthusiast community.

The Story Behind This Database
Carl Wayne was once asked: "Why the WAYNE TUG DATABASE?" He replied, "When tugwatching or just looking at pictures of tugs, I am curious: how big is it, how much power does it have, where and when was she built, what other names has she had, who is the owner, what other boats do they own, etc.?" I found early on that while some boats are owned by the same owner for a while, some boats are often sold, renamed, and ultimately lost or scrapped. And of course new boats are sometimes built. It can be difficult to keep track of the boats without a computer.

The Sources for the Tugboat Data
Carl wrote this about the sources he used for his data: "Tugboat data has been available in different ways over the years; MERCHANT VESSELS of the UNITED STATES listing all merchant vessels, issued each year up to 1981, then only in 1989 and 1994. Since around 1994, some data has been available on a website with data from the U. S. Coast Guard thru a site run by the National Marine Fisheries. It is improving, but some data is not yet available." "I now list 8,000 boats of which about 7,000 are active. In order to update the data I must contact NMFS about each boat and see if there have been any changes, then update my list. "I also have started to list Canadian tugs with data from the Canadian Vessel Registry, but alas, I do not have time to do all that I would like to do; indeed, sometimes I seem unable to catch up with the data."

How to retrieve info from the site
All information must be accessed via a "Search Form" in the site. Some knowledge of how to punch in your queries can be very helpful. When using the search form, don't get to fancy. Short names where possible: Want data on MARY L. McALLISTER or can't remember the initial? Just input MARY, and then read what tugs are returned and click on the full name. The best search is by official number. You want to know what boats that I list which were built in Brooklyn by Ira S. Bushey & Sons, Inc.? Just enter Bushey (keep it simple) and have it search under builders. Don't remember how to spell Jakobson? Well, just enter "Oyster Bay" and have it search place of build. The most frequently used categories to search will be official numbers, boat names, operators, and under notes for former names. A search will result in a message stating that your search item cannot be found. Another possibility is that the site will return an intermediate data sheet, 80 or 100 boats, in pages of 20 boats each, each boat of which can be clicked on to bring all the data on that boat that I have available in the database, all on one sheet. You must show on the form what you want the computer to find. Input "MORAN"? You must tell the database if you are looking for tugs with Moran in the name, the operator's name, or "notes" for former names.

Information about the Maintainer & the Database Programmers
Carl Wayne designed the tugboat database and compiled the data. Justin Wayne, Carl's son, originally created the database and programmed it to work on the Internet. Data entry stopped in March 2002, when Carl passed away. Lynne Worsfold, a professional data programmer, volunteered to help the Tugboat Enthusiasts Society website development team reprogram the Carl Wayne Tugboat Database and get it back on line. Thanks to Lynne the database went online and has been available since 2003. Lynne Worsfold will be developing the other databases planned for this website. Several tugboat enthusiasts have offered to help maintain the database. We will be taking them up on their offer soon.