Three Friends

Florida’s most famous tug boat was the Three Friends. She was designed and built by famed Governor of Florida, Napoleon Bonaparte Broward. Broward, rising from abject poverty, made his fame and part of his small fortune from his tug boat.

The Three Friends, in its infancy, was a filibustering vessel, carrying men and munitions to Cuba in an attempt to overthrow the existing Spanish government. She then became a salvage tug and later, a conventional harbor tug as might be found in any seaboard city in the 1920s and 1930s.

In December 1893, Broward entered into an agreement with two partners to build the hull of the vessel. Live oak, white pine and yellow pine were used. The strength of the vessel came from a wood termed "Madeira", found in the Bahamas.

Construction began on a shoe-string budget. The vessel was launched in February 1895 and was completed a few months later.

The Three Friends was 112 feet long, 24 feet wide. She had a triple expansion steam engine of 525 horsepower. After completion in early 1896, Broward tried her in commercial service but was barely able to make a profit. This lack of business finally induced Broward to try his hand at "filibustering."

Fervent Cuban exiles in Florida were desirous of ridding Cuba of Spanish rule. Vessels were being hired to carry men and arms from Florida to Cuba. The supplies and men were landed in the cover of night and augmented rebel forces in Cuba that were fighting against the government. The rewards to the ships and crew were great, but if the vessel and her crew were to be captured, the fatal penalty could be the firing squad.

The Three Friends made several filibustering trips to Cuba from Jacksonville in 1896 and 1897 despite United States pressure and legal procedures against such activity. Many of these voyages were extremely dangerous and involved great personal risk. This activity ceased, of course, with the advent of war with Spain in April 1898.

After these exciting adventures, the New York Herald hired the tug as a dispatch boat. The Three Friends was a speedy vessel and carried news of the war to Key West where it was telegraphed to New York.

After the war was over, Broward and his brother, Montcalm, used the Three Friends as a salvage tug around the Florida Keys, towing disabled vessels and salvaging cargoes from wrecked or stranded ships. Several years later she traveled to Jacksonville for her new duty as both a salvage and harbor tug.

Over the years, the Three Friends evolved into a harbor tug in Jacksonville on the St. Johns River. Many design changes were made during her lifetime as shown in the ship plans provided here. Notice that her heavy duty masts were replaced with lighter ones and a sail was no longer carried.

Perhaps her most notable hour came in 1931 when she was the escort vessel that greeted the USS Constitution on her visit to Jacksonville.

Napoleon Bonaparte Broward’s publicized exploits with the Three Friends aided him in achieving the goal of becoming Florida's Democratic governor after the turn of the century. After serving Florida as governor, he was elected to the U. S. Senate, but died before he could serve.

This historically valuable tug survived World War II, but her duties were limited. She was often the ceremonial vessel when a new vessel entered port.

Efforts to prevent her deterioration and establish her as a museum ship failed. She was allowed to sink at her moorings. Several years ago, her massive three cylinder steam engine was salvaged and is in the possession of the Jacksonville Maritime Museum Society, where plans have been made to restore and display it for all to see.