History of Claus D.

EX MOORFLETH, EX SCHULAU


1984

The Barge Company CARL ROBERT ECKELMANN, founded in 1865, donated the oldtimer to the Museumshafen Oevelgoenne in 1984.

 

The Museumshafen Oevelgoenne was founded in 1977 and reactivated the Steam Tug "Tiger" successfully.

 

A bunch of volunteers is taking care of Claus D. and the tug is presented to the public at the "International Congress of Maritime Museums" in September 1984.

 

In the following years the tug is steaming again in the port of Hamburg on special events.

Handing Over ceremony in the Museumshafen Oevelgoenne, August 28th, 1984
Handing Over ceremony in the Museumshafen Oevelgoenne, August 28th, 1984
Hull Inspection March 1989. Slg. Björn Nicolaisen
Hull Inspection March 1989. Slg. Björn Nicolaisen

1994

At the end of the season 1994 the tug is sailed to Harburg to "Jugend in Arbeit e.V." for restoration.

 

This association is helping young unemployed people with professional qualification.

 

To do this they are working on a shipyard restoring historical ships.

 

Claus D. is completely gutted, the hull restored to original condition, the boiler gets new pipes, the steam engine is overhauled and complete new electric systems are installed.

in drydock at Jugend in Arbeit, 1996. Foto Björn Nicolaisen
in drydock at Jugend in Arbeit, 1996. Foto Björn Nicolaisen
restoration at Jugend in Arbeit, December 1997. Foto Andreas Westphalen
restoration at Jugend in Arbeit, December 1997. Foto Andreas Westphalen

1998

After 4 years of complete restoration Claus D. is back in service on October 2nd 1998.

 

Since then she is doing around 30 short trips per year in the port of Hamburg to finance the running costs. A crew of volunteers maintains the ship on a non profit basis.

Approaching the Museumshafen on October 7th, 2001, Foto Andreas Westphalen
Approaching the Museumshafen on October 7th, 2001, Foto Andreas Westphalen
CLAUS D. and TIGER on cruise to Lauenburg, April 28th, 2002, Foto Knut Friedmann
CLAUS D. and TIGER on cruise to Lauenburg, April 28th, 2002, Foto Knut Friedmann

2007

The type approval of the old boilder is running out and the boiler is suffering of non repairable damage. The future of the tug is uncertain.

 

Thanks to a fund-raising campaign and with support of industry and manufacturers a new boiler according to the old specifications is constructed and installed. The complete boiler installation is renewed.

Boiler pressure test at UHLIG Rohrbogen, Nov 23rd, 2009, Foto Andreas Westphalen
Boiler pressure test at UHLIG Rohrbogen, Nov 23rd, 2009, Foto Andreas Westphalen
Installation of the new boiler at the Norderwerft, March 29th, 2010, Foto Ansgar Stein
Installation of the new boiler at the Norderwerft, March 29th, 2010, Foto Ansgar Stein