03 August 2002

Historic fireboat to tour Hudson

by John Kryger
- See this article in print

Rockland, Putnam and Westchester residents will have a rare opportunity next week to tour a former New York City fireboat that pumped at the World Trade Center disaster.

The fireboat John J. Harvey, decommissioned in 1994 as New York Fire Department Marine Company 2 and now privately owned, will make a touring stop in Cold Spring on Tuesday evening.

The boat, which can still pump water at a rate of 16,000 to 18,000 gallons per minute, will be at a private dock in the Putnam County village. Free tours of the floating fire engine are scheduled from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The Putnam stop is part of a one-week trip up and down the Hudson River, with stops in Kingston, Hudson and Albany, and possibly a touring stay in Stony Point on Aug. 12.

"Right now, we're in the process of negotiating a stop at the Panco Oil pier in Stony Point," said Eric Weisler, 39, of New City. Weisler is one of eight people who own the boat and one of two from Rockland. The other local owner is Chase Welles of Nyack.

"We're a pretty big boat, and we need 9 feet of water to dock," Weisler said. "The problem is that there aren't a whole lot of local municipal docks that can accommodate a boat that drafts 9 feet of water."

Weisler characterizes his owner role as that of "helping with restoration efforts and building the Web site." Weisler is a Web site designer by trade.

"We're making the trip to bring awareness to the local river towns of our existence and that there are many other boats like ours of historic value that are still in operation and being restored," Weisler said. "We're also trying, through these trips, to get these towns to upgrade their local waterfronts.

"We did it last year for the first time, to bring awareness to the Hudson River waterfront and the fact that historic vessels are around, and not let them go to the scrap heap."

The Harvey is berthed at Pier 63 at an old railroad barge at 23rd Street and the North River in Manhattan.

Last year, when the World Trade Center was attacked, and firefighters were scrambling to find usable fire hydrants, the Harvey helped.

"We were basically a floating fire hydrant, pumping water into the scene that Tuesday until the weekend," Weisler said.

Built in 1931, the Harvey was named for John J. Harvey, an FDNY pilot of the steam fireboat Thomas Willett, which was assigned to Engine Company 86 at Bloomfield Street in Manhattan's West Village.

Harvey was killed Feb. 11, 1930, in an explosion aboard the North German Lloyd Lines ship Muenchen at North River Pier 42, Morton Street.

The Harvey is 130 feet long, weighs 268 tons and can do about 15 knots of speed. It is powered by five 600-horsepower diesel engines. Destined for scrap, it was bought at auction in 1999 by eight people, most of them from New York City, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Since then, a wildly diverse community of interest has formed around the vessel, including retired professionals, volunteers and members of the local and national community. The ownership has grown to 17 people, including Weisler and his wife, Bonnie, and Welles, who is the boat president.

"Chase Welles ran an auction, and we won a party on the boat," Weisler said. "Welles invited us out before the party, and we fell in love with the boat. It became a focal point for our family. We became hard-core volunteers, and asked if I could buy into it, and we did."

Bonnie Weisler helps by selling T-shirts to recoup some of the costs of fuel, maintenance and insurance. On this trip, their son Alex, 13, will be in charge of the T-shirt operation. Their other children, Valerie, 4, and Simon, 5, will not make the trip.

"We're an uninspected boat, so according to Coast Guard rules, we aren't allowed to charge carriage," Eric Weisler said. "We're just trying to break even, which we probably never will do."

The New City Volunteer Fire Department recently got a bonus from the Harvey — Eric Weisler joined the department after his interest in firefighting was renewed by the Harvey. He is finishing basic training now.

"I always wanted to be a firefighter when I was younger, and this is a great way to give back to the community," Weisler said.

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