CCGS Kenoki at Kingston

Occasionally, unusual vessels that have visited Kingston become a topic of interest on this blog. One such unusual vessel was the CCGS Kenoki. Built at Erieau Shipbuilding in 1964, the buoy barge was 310 gross tons, 109x36x6 feet and made 12 knots. Legs that could be lowered while working buoys in shallow, fast-moving water were removed in 1973, and a new bow fitted. At the same time, two 5-ton pedestal cranes were replaced by a single 10-ton derrick, at Canadian Dredge & Dock. She visited Kingston in September, 1964 after christening at Prescott the month before:

CCGS Kenoki christened at Prescott, excerpted from News on the DOT Sept/Oct 1964:

A new marine agency tender of unique design, capable of literally ‘standing on its own legs’, was christened in a ceremony at the Prescott Marine Agency on August 15 (1964). Sponsor of the ship was Mrs. J.S. Barrick, wife of the department’s district marine agent for the Prescott Agency.

CCGS ‘Kenoki’ will operate on Lakes Erie and Ontario and in the Detroit and Upper St. Lawrence Rivers. Because her work at times will be in shallow waters and strong current, such as in parts of the Detroit River where it will be difficult to maintain a fixed position by use of engines and anchors, the ship is equipped with ‘spuds’ which can be lowered like giant legs to the bed of the channel. Thus she will provide a rigid working platform when operations require it.

The ship’s name is Indian meaning ‘long-legged crane’ and is an unusually apt one in view of the peculiar capabilities of the ‘Kenoki’. She was designed by Alex C Campbell & Son of Montreal to the requirements of the department’s shipbuilding and marine operations branches, and conforms to the requirements of the Canadian Board of Steamship Inspection and Lloyd’s Classification Society.

Capt John T Bennett is master of the new vessel with John J McOrmond as chief engineer.

In service, before the "spuds" were removed, a boom and winch installed on the deck, and she got something of a "bow". A little bit of a pig of a ship when the weather kicked up on the lakes, but she did the job. Here's Kenoki working buoys in Kingston on April 16, 1969 (Queen's University Archives photo):

In service (above) then photographed by Stefan Nybom during the refit in 1973

Kenoki was decommissioned in 1992 and sold in 1999.