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Dual-purpose tugboats were built to break ice in the winter and assist ships in warmer seasons.

The tugboat Arctic was built in Manitowoc in 1881 to serve the Goodrich Transportation Company.

After nearly 50 years of service, the aging tug was dismantled and beached north of Manitowoc harbor in 1930.

The shipwreck was surveyed in 2017 and its remains can be viewed by divers and snorkelers in Maritime Bay.

Artifacts and photos of the Arctic are on display at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc.

As autumn turns to winter and the onset of frost and ice, it prompted me to consider how maritime commerce in the past overcame the natural challenges of breaking ice on the Manitowoc River.

The solution was to build strong-hulled vessels that served dual purposes to

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