Diesel towboat, with steel hull and twin props. The hull was built at Ambridge, PA by American Bridge Co. and the rest was completed by the owner, in 1950. It was 140 x 25 x 10.1 and powered by GM 12-657 diesels with a total of 1800 hp. (Those were placed in 1955). It was owned by Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., of Chickasaw, AL, and was originally named Choctaw. In 1971 It was sold to Gulf-Canal Lines, Inc. of Houston and renamed Port of Houston. In 1978 Holinger Transportation of Greensville, MS bought the boat and resold it to Bel-Min Towing Co., of Powhattan Point, OH, who renamed it the Gregory Jay. Sometime after 1978 my uncle, Ron Grimm, bought it (Golden Triangle River Contract & Towing Co., Ltd., of McKees Rocks, PA). Ron sold it in 1983 to G & C Towing of Point Pleasant, WV. The Gregory Jay burned in Pittsburgh in 1984, and was sold to Rover Valley Cruises of South Point, OH. It was converted to a restaurant boat, renamed Towboat Annie's, and berthed for a time in Louisville, KY.
My dad and my brother both worked on the boat, around 1980, for Uncle Ron.
Photo courtesy of Dan Owen.