Robert C. Pringle (tug)
Robert C. Pringle as Chequamegon, c. 1909 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name | Robert C. Pringle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | Pringle Barge Line Company, Mentor, Ohio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Port of registry | Fairport, Ohio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Builder | Manitowoc Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yard number | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launched | May 9, 1903 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In service | June 23, 1903 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Out of service | June 19, 1922 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Identification | Registry number US 127764 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fate | Sank after striking an obstruction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General characteristics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class & type | Tugboat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tonnage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 101 ft (30.8 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beam | 22.33 ft (6.8 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depth | 9.50 ft (2.9 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | 1 × 7.5 ft (2.3 m) fixed pitch propeller | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Robert C. Pringle, originally named Chequamegon, was a wooden-hulled American tugboat. She sank without loss of life on Lake Michigan, near Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on June 19, 1922, after striking an obstruction, possibly floating driftwood.
Chequamegon was built in 1903 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company. She was built for the newly formed Chequamegon Bay Transportation Company of Ashland, Wisconsin, under which she hauled freight between Ashland, Bayfield, Washburn and Madeline Island. She was sold multiple times between 1904 and 1918, and was renamed Pere Marquette 7 in 1911. In 1918, she was sold to the Pringle Barge Line, who converted her to a tug and renamed her Robert C. Pringle.
On June 18, 1922, Robert C. Pringle began towing the wooden bulk freighter Venezuela from Milwaukee to Sandusky, Ohio, where the Venezuela was scheduled to receive extensive repairs. At about 2:00 a.m. on the following day, as the vessels were passing Sheboygan, Robert C. Pringle struck an obstruction, and began taking on water rapidly. Despite her pumps being in operation, the water eventually extinguished her boilers, forcing her crew to abandon her and row to Venezuela. All crewmen were delivered safely to Manitowoc.
Robert C. Pringle's wreck was discovered in 2008 by Steve Radovan. In 2019, it was subjected to a thorough archaeological survey by the Wisconsin Historical Society, which described the wreck as "remarkably intact". The wreck of Robert C. Pringle was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 14, 2020.