San Francisco, CA - On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park’s 1907 steam tugboat Hercules will leave its Hyde Street Pier berth under tow for a visit to a drydock facility in Alameda, CA. While in drydock, Hercules, a National Historic Landmark (NHL) vessel, will undergo preservation work including cleaning, painting, and other maintenance.
The steel components of the main deck, pilot house, smokestack, and mast of Hercules, will be sand-blasted, inspected, re-welded if necessary, and freshly painted.
Compartments and working spaces including the fo’c’sle, boiler room, and engine room, as well as the floors and other structural elements, will be repaired due to impacts from aging and weathering. Some equipment and machinery will be removed and reinstalled to access and repair the damages.
While away from Hyde Street Pier, Hercules can be experienced virtually! The park offers a virtual tour to explore the ship from any location! Visitors can tour the ship and take a closer look inside the pilot house, crew quarters, and engineering spaces. To experience this virtual tour, visit the App Store or Google Play and search, “Hercules Steam Tug" or “San Francisco Maritime."
Hercules will return to the park at a future date to be announced.
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, located at the west end of Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, includes a fleet of historic ships, Visitor Center, Maritime Museum, Maritime Research Center, and the Aquatic Park Historic District. Visit the park online at https://www.nps.gov/safr; follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ SFMaritimeNPS; and join us on Facebook @ SanFranciscoMaritimeNHP.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service