The JUANITA
Boat Name: JUANITA
Owner: Tommy & Lakin Cook
Home Port: Mile 51.1 on the Kanawha River at Dunbar, WV
Hull: Scow bow, steel hull, three compartments, hull was re-plated in 1984 with 1/4" plate. All hull framing is 'extra heavy'.
Hull Size: 64' x 16.5' x 3.9' Overall 80' x 16.5' x 3.9'
Paddlewheel: 12' wide x 12' diameter, 12 buckets, 24" dip, 1" oak boards. Hexagon shaft.
Engine: Detroit Diesel 6-71. Naturally Aspirated.
Drive Train: Twin Disc MG 166 reversing gear with 4.5 to 1 ratio. Link Belt Silent Chain drives to 4 7/16" jackshaft with # 200 chain to paddlewheel. Most of the machinery (engine, gear, drive train, steering system & paddlewheel) was transferred from the 1st JUANITA.
Steering: Hydraulic steering with two main & two monkey rudders controlled by steering levers instead of a pilotwheel.
Builder: Built in 1954 by O. F. Shearer & Sons in an empty coal hopper barge at Cedar Grove, WV--mile 76.6 on the Kanawha River. When she was finished, the hopper barge was floated onto a drydock and raised out of the water. Holes were cut into the hopper barge, then it was sunk out from underneath the JUANITA. Plans for this boat consisted of a sketch drawn on a wall calendar.
Superstructure: One deck, all steel construction, bath and shower area, kitchen & dining area, one bedroom.
Misc.: 12.5 KW Onan generator, Radar, GPS, 510 gallon water capacity, 2150 gallon fuel capacity, Kahlenberg three trumpet air horn.
The JUANITA was built to replace a wooden hull towboat that was also named JUANITA. The 1st one was built in 1928 as the ESTELL l l at Madison Ind. The ESTELL l l was the second boat in a long line of boats owned by O. F. Shearer & Sons that stretched from the early 1900's to 1973.
The primary duties of the JUANITA were servicing the Shearer landing at Cedar Grove, WV and coal landing docks on the upper Kanawha River.
The JUANITA and the rest of the Shearer operations were sold in 1973 to Indiana & Michigan Power Co. In 1976, their base of operation was moved to Lakin, WV --Mile 257.2 on the Ohio River. We purchased the boat in 1994 and returned it to the Kanawha River after a nearly twenty year absence.
When we purchased the boat, it need extensive renovation work. There were no living facilities. The bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room areas were added. No changes were made to the outside appearance.
The hull has been sandblasted and coated with Coal Tar epoxy. The paddlewheel was rebuilt and made one foot larger in diameter. The three original steering rudders were replaced with two new ones.
The toughest part of the renovation was removing 19 tons of river gravel ballast from the bow rake compartment. All this gravel was removed by hand using plastic buckets (approx. 450). This ballast was replaced with 6 tons of steel placed as close to the head of the boat as possible.