Cruising
through
the cold
Restored Astoria tugboat
Arrow 2 will give winter tours
By NIKKI DAVIDSON
COAST WEEKEND
Launching a new tourism business on
the eve of a worldwide pandemic could
have been a recipe for disaster.
But the newly-restored Arrow 2 tug boat
is not sinking — it’s cruising through the
choppy waves of the future.
The boat spent a busy 50 years ferrying
river pilots on the Astoria waterfront from
the 1960s to 2012. When the tugboat retired
it was reported to be the oldest working
p ilot l aunch on the West Coast.
After an eight-year hiatus on the water
and a major facelift, it returned to service as
a tourism vessel this spring.
The tugboat won’t be locked up this win-
ter. The restored vessel’s captain plans to
make it one of the few outside attractions
open year-round in Astoria. History tours
will be open to the public into the darker,
wetter winter months.
“The weather is nicer on the water in
the wintertime than it is in the summer,”
assured Arrow 2 Capt. Mark Schächer.
“You can’t stand outside the boat, but
unless you’ve been inside, you don’t realize
that the visibility is so good because there
are so many windows.”
Restoring the vessel was a labor of
love for Schächer, who has been working
on local boats since he was 14 years old.
Schächer is his own harshest critic, pouring
his heart into the tiny details amid a supply
shortage.
Andy Cameron
From the Arrow 2, guests get a new appreciation for the size of the Columbia River’s largest vessels.
Arrow 2 history tours
Three hour tour
Groups of 3 to 6 people
$100 per person
$75 for children 12 and under
Contact Arrow 2 to schedule a trip
503-791-6250
arrowtug@gmail.com
Andy Cameron
As Astoria fades into the distance, passengers
are treated to the hidden history of the area’s
east end. This manually rotated bridge
allowed train traffi c to cross the slough.
See Page 9
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