First Came Steam -

The first tugboats in the Coos Bay area had steam engines, and steam powered tugs were in service up to the 1950s.

Steam power had some advantages: wood and coal to burn to make steam were abundant and cheap, and the engines were fairly simple, reliable and powerful.

- then Internal Combustion

Gasoline and Diesel engines began to replace steam in the early 1900s. The advantages they have over steam: instant starting [a steam boiler could take several hours to make enough steam to run the engine], smaller size and greater efficiency in converting fuel to energy.


The Koos No. 2 Engine
[What you can see in the window]
A Cummins V-12 cylinder marine diesel.

This engine is rated at 450 horsepower which provided enough power for the 49 foot long Koos No. 2 to tow log rafts and move sawdust barges. This is the fourth engine, installed in 1958. This engine had run more than 100,000 hours by the time of its retirement in 1987.


How Much Power?

Smaller harbor tugs may have less than 400 horsepower, while larger ocean going tugs may have as much as 4000 horsepower.

Real muscle power...

A marine Diesel engine for a tug the size of Koos No. 2 weighs more than



most cars.

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Show me all markers in:  Coos Bay, OR  |  Coos County  |  97420  |  Oregon  |  United States of America

Tugboat Ancestors
Shipping
What is a Tugboat?
Koos No. 2
The Changing Waterfront
The Changing Waterfront
The Changing Waterfront
Transportation
Transportation
Transportation

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