She lays low and stable along the dock, with plumb bow stem, sweeping rail, and unwavering house lines; she is a stately lady. You might walk past her without a glance. There are lots of tugboats around Southeast Alaska. Most were built over fifty years ago.

The tug "BEE"

She bears her scars

and her wrinkles,

but I can only hope to be in such good shape when I am 112 years old.

The stack on the tug "BEE" showing that she was built in 1901.

The plaque on the stack tells of this tug being built in Everette, Washington in 1901. They did a good job.

She was facing the boneyard recently, but someone took a look. He found that the "BEE" has a sound hull, and he couldn't let this piece of history be thrown away. She gets to be somebody's baby now.

I love the details. I don't know how much is original and how much has been changed over the last century, but let's take just a minute to appreciate a few nice little touches that are worth a moment's contemplation.