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Cottus

Canadian List of Shipping 1956: Cottus [C.193292] registered at Winnipeg; built at Owen Sound in 1952. 41' 9 x 12' x 2' 7; 14 g.t.; 10 n.t.; 165 hp. Owned by The Minister of Fisheries, Ottawa. Canadian List of Shipping 1970: Steel workboat Cottus C.193292] registered at Winnipeg; built at Owen Sound in 1952. 42'; 14 g.t. Transport Canada List 2002: Built by Russel-Hipwell Engine Co., Owen Sound, Ont. Transport Canada List 2003: Owned by Ministry of Lands and Forests, Ottawa. SB notes (July 2007): Mr. Lynn Golden of Tobermory (worked on Cottus for Min. of Fish. out of Tobermory) reports Cottus has been converted into a fishing tug and has been in Glenora, Ontario, for the last year. Lynn says she was a good boat, but rolled a fair bit with the wind. Freshwater sculpins (genus Cottus) can be important forage fish for trout. Cottus 193292 registry suspended 2008-03-10.


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1952 Report of the Central Fisheries Research Station http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/354105.pdf
"Major Acquistions - Boats: A new steel boat, the "Cottus", was built for the Central Station by Russel-Hipwell of Owen Sound, Ontario. The "Cottus" has a length of 45 feet, a beam of 12 feet,draws 4 feet 3 inches and has a registered net tonnage of 9.82. The boat is powered by a diesel motor with a 3:1 reduction gear which develops 105 BHP at 1600 RPM. The "Cottus" has living quarters for four men forward. The wheelhouse is amidships and all controls are placed so that a man can operate the boat single-handed. Immediately behind the wheelhouse the whole stern is left clear as a working space. The boat is eqipped with a radio-telephone and a power niggerhead. The "Cottus" was launched at Selkirk, Manitoba on September 28 for use on Lake Winnipeg. She has proved to be seaworthy in heavy weather and otherwise entirely satisfactory."

 

Cottus, 1959. Photo courtesy Lynn Golden. Kyle Coultis commented (June 2018): "Lynn worked with Blaine Chisholm on her on Georgian Bay and out of the Soo for a number of years. I believe they both retired from the fisheries and are now deceased. They gave mom and us boys a ride to Flowerpot Island on her a couple of tmes when they were working out of Tobermory. Dad was the light keeper on Flowerpot."

 

Cottus, 1959. Photo courtesy Lynn Golden. Jim Macdonald commented (June 2018): "They spent a lot of time with us on Michipicoten Island in the 1960s scale sampling trout and Lamprey work, Andy Laurie, Biologist, Murray Randsbury, Captain, with Lynn Golden and Blaine Chisholm from St. Joe Is. They fished their own box of net along with ours { 1" to 6" } on the "James D. I don't think Murray could swim, But heard him tell about setting nets in Batchawana Bay then putting on a diving suit and sit on the bottom and watch the way fish would gill or lead along the net. Lynn & Blaine went over to False Harbour one evening and chipped out a 30 lb. solid red agate, they cut it in half and Lynn told me he used his for a door stop!!"
Maurice Spooner commented (on the photo above, tug Abitibi in background)(June 2018): "Would have been at the Gov't dock in the Soo. Hard to forget that! My dad worked for Abitibi in those days and brought me down to the tug many times while he attended to business. He'd let the cook (Jack was his name, cant remember the last name?) take charge of me and I'd get filled up on chocolate cake and buttertarts. Jack would then release me to the care of dad again as an energised 5 yr old?"

 

Lynn Golden aboard the Cottus c. 1959, in Batchawana Bay, Ontario. Photo courtesy Arliss Golden.

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Measuring the invasiveness of Sea Lamprey Eels.
Poisoning trays, using rotenone poisoning, were used off the rivers Batchawana and Sable in 1959.
Excerpts from "The Distribution of Sea Lamprey Ammocoetes in the Lake of Eight Rivers Draining into the Canadian Waters of Lake Superior", published November 1961: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/38531.pdf

The trays were essentially shallow metal boxes laid upside down on the bottom, in which rotenone poison was applied. Fig. 9 gives details of the construction of a tray. Fig. 10 shows the trays ready for use on the deck of the vessel "Cottus". The trays were set over the stern of the vessel "Cottus" in as near a straight line as possible. When set on the bottom, S.C.U.B.A. (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) divers were employed to turn the trays with the open side against the sand and to bed them down to seal the bottom edge to the sand. Trays were left on the bottom for 24 hours; they were then revisited by S.C.U.B.A. divers who carefully inverted them and collected any dead animals from underneath. FoLlowing this, the trays were hauled aboard and re-set at the next location. Repeating this technique, 4 strings or 40 trays could be conveniently examined and re-set each day. The trays were used along the 20 ft and 30 ft isobaths.

Most deep water sampLing was carried out using an anchor dredge designed especially for the purpose. This dredge, shown on the deck of the "Cottus" in Fig. 12, consists essentially of a sharpened steeL plate which is dragged at an angle to the bottom and which scoops substrate into a bag behind. The effective width of the dredge was two feet, its length 9 feet three inches, and its weight 208 lbs. It was used at depths from 6 to 124 feet. Physical data for the bottom at each haul was recorded and collections of all fauna captured in the dredge were made.

 

From Russel Brothers factory description

 

Clipping from Gerry Ouderkirk collection.

 

Clipping from Gerry Ouderkirk collection. Canadian Transportation Magazine, 1953.

 

Kyle Coultis commented (June 18, 2018): "I remember her as fisheries research vessel, I had two friends working on her. Lynn Golden worked with Blaine Chisholm on her on Georgian Bay and out of the Soo for a number of years. I believe they both retired from the fisheries and are now deceased. They gave mom and us boys a ride to Flowerpot on her a couple of tmes when they were working out of Tobermory. Dad was the light keeper on Flowerpot."

Jim Macdonald commented (June 18, 2018): "They spent a lot of time with us on Michipicoten Island in the '60s, scale sampling trout and lamprey work, Andy Laurie, biologist, Murray Randsbury, captain, with Lynn Golden and Blaine Chisholm from St. Joe Is. They fished their own box of net along with ours {1" to 6"} on the "James D". I don't think Murray could swim, But heard him tell about setting nets in Batchawana Bay then putting on a diving suit to sit on the bottom and watch the way fish would gill or lead along the net. Lynn & Blaine went over to False Harbour one evening and chipped out a 30 lb solid red agate, they cut it in half and Lynn told me he used his for a door stop!!"

 

Aug. 17, 2021: After many years, we have some current photos of Cottus. In July 2007 Mr. Lynn Golden of Tobermory (worked on Cottus for Min. of Fish. out of Tobermory) reported Cottus had been converted into a fishing tug and has been in Glenora, Ontario, for the last year. Tim McCormack wites: My cousin Allen McIntosh owns her and has for a long time now. My great uncle Ron captained her for years with the ministry who is also Allen's father. Not likely he will ever part with her. Allen currently is the captain of the Steelcraft for the OMNR (another vessel built by Russel brothers). Top: COTTUS, on Black Creek, near Milford ON. Photo by Prince Edward County photographer, Peggy DeWitt. http://www.peggydewitt.com/galleries/black-river-ontario. Bottom left courtesy Andre Giraud and bottom left from https://cabinfeverkayak.ca/black-river

 

For more Russel exhibits visit Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum 1165 1st Ave West, Owen Sound, ON N4K 4K8
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