The S.S. Sicamous Society is working to get their tugboats at the S.S. Sicamous Heritage Park open for public tours.
The Canadian Nation Tug #6, built in 1948 and retired in 1973, was moved to Penticton in 2007 where it has been stationed ever since.
The tugboat needs a lot of work, and thanks to a $5,000 donation from CN Rail the society is now getting started on the restorations, with the goal of making it open for tours in 2023.
There is a great deal to be done, including redoing the flooring throughout the vessel and restoring the pilot-house including the ship’s wheel and engine controls.
The ship’s galley will also require heavy work, including replacing a wall that was cut out and removed at some point during the ship’s life.
The diesel-powered tugboat was operated by the CN Railway Company on Okanagan Lake transferring rail barges between Penticton and Kelowna.
While the $5,000 will allow for restorations to begin, there will still need to be more donations raised to finish the work, as well as volunteers willing to share their time in making the tug ship-shape.
Anyone wishing to help preserve this piece of Okanagan history is invited to come down to the S.S. Sicamous office any time they are open, from Thursday to Monday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Donations can also be made as sssicamous.ca.