From the early days of commercial navigation on the waterways of the Great Lakes, tugboats have been needed to guide the ships in and out of the newly constructed ports. As the means of transportation progressed from wooden schooners to large steel steamships, the tugboat also grew in size. This book takes an in-depth look into the ancient practices of Great Lakes ice-breaking, ship-assistance and towing. At the turn of the century, the towing industry changed forever with the consolidation of fleets and the design of the low-profile powerful steam ship-docking tug. This “G-Tug” design has become known all around the world and these same 80-year old tugs are still the primary workhorse in most harbors on the Lakes today. Many other designs, unique to the fresh waters of the Great Lakes are profiled in this book. The severe climate of the Great Lakes region is brutal on the equipment and the tugs are built tough, for heavy ice breaking. A new class of powerful Coast Guard ice-breaking tugs came out in the 1940s. Today, many of these “WYTM” class tugs survive in commercial service on the Lakes.