We are a group of volunteers who banded together in 2002 to create the nonprofit Historic Tugboat Education and Restoration Society.

Our time is donated to educate the young people of the San Francisco Bay Area while we restore and preserve our vintage tugboats. Our fleet consists of two tugboats from 1940: the U.S.S. Nokomis, a hero of Pearl Harbor, and the U.S.S. Wenonah.

Various projects on the boats and the boats themselves are our means to educate the youth who come aboard, fuel their desire for learning, and inspire confidence in themselves. Our projects run from painting the steel decks, to rebuilding the diesel engines, to running the boat. Each project has an educational aspect and a learn by doing component. Here is one of our volunteers teaching a group of Sea Cadets about splicing as they splice a new mooring line.

Most of our education programs are aimed at high school and junior high school age children, but we also offer education and training to those who volunteer with the organization.

If you have questions, comments, or can share with us some of the history of our boats, please contact us at info@hters.org.