All in a Day's Work
The Luna and her sister, the Venus, were the best boats in the Boston Towboat fleet between 1930 and 1945 and therefore were the "first boats" to be assigned every day. Not only were the two tugs the most powerful tugs, they were also the most reliable, and the most efficient. The majority of the tug’s work involved docking and undocking ships in every part of greater Boston Harbor, from Salem’s coal-fired powerplants and industries in the north, to Plymouth harbor in the south.

Most of the time, the tugs were busy pushing and towing tankers, freighters, refrigerated cargo ships, passenger liners, warships, and large barges within Boston Harbor. One hour they might be operating in the main ship channel, another hour they might find themselves far up the Chelsea Creek, the Mystic River, the Charles River, the Fort Point Channel, Island Creek, the Reserve Channel of South Boston, handling a ship at Quincy or Salem, or handling warships in the Boston Naval Shipyard. The tugs operated between Maine and New York on assignments. (previous • next)