Henrietta Foss, a 49’ tug, was built by and for the Foss Tug and Launch Co. in 1931. 

After a long and productive working life, she retired and now enjoys life in private ownership.   

In 2023 she came to Haven to attend to some soft planks; cognizant of the vessel’s history and local fame, the decision was made to effect full repair to her forward half, rather than the sistering repairs so often seen.  We pulled her garboards and first broads – 3” fir- to have access to her centerline as we replaced over 50 full length oak frames.   A new hardwood sheer strake and covering board captured the top of the new frames, and 2 ¼” fir planks filled in the rest.  We’d milled up some red cedar crooks that found good use as new Bulwark lifts.  Henrietta Foss was a very tricky boat to work on, as we found ourselves bending wood of a thickness normally found on boats twice her size around the tight curves and apple-shaped cheeks that this small but might tug has.  The effort and thought that went into this project comes across in the expressions and body language of the crew.  

We enjoy the pictures Jeremy took of this process for a lot of reasons, but a major one has got to be that he caught a crew pursuing their craft in a way that hasn’t changed much at all since 1931.