The D. J. Purdy

The steamship, the D. J. Purdy, was built from the fire ravaged remains of the Sincennes. The 142-foot side wheeler returned to service in 1912. She had the distinction of being the last side wheeler to run a regular service from Saint John to Fredericton. She was on this run for 10 years and during the years following 1916 she had it to herself.

Mr. D.J.Purdy was born in Jemseg but as a young man moved to Saint John. He became a grocer and over the years prospered as a businessman with many interests. He was the owner of several steamboats, with the D. J. Purdy being the first to carry his name

An interesting feature of the D. J. Purdy was her steel "fleathering float" paddle wheels. The floats were slightly concave and had each end attached to an arm by a pin so that it could swing. The floats were also attached by a rod to an eccentric, in such a way that they entered the water at practically right angles and came out at the same angle, much as a man handles his oars when rowing. This eliminated the power loss caused by floats striking the water at too flat an angle on entering and lifting a considerable amount of water when coming out. This increased efficiency enabled the use of a much smaller paddle wheel, thereby saving considerable space on the saloon deck. Previously, side wheel steamboats had used a rather large wheel to overcome this issue.

The D. J. Purdy was retired in 1923 to be replaced by the motor ship the D. J. Purdy I.