Pulled in a new direction

COEUR d’ALENE – For nearly 90 years, log delivery to local mills has been North Idaho Maritime’s signature business. Now, its future is tied to residential real estate development.

Two weeks ago, the firm’s green-and-white tugs pushed their last load of logs up the Spokane River to the Atlas Mill. The mill’s owner – Stimson Lumber Co. of Portland – plans to shut down operations in December, taking about 35 percent of the tug company’s business with it.

North Idaho Maritime hopes to replace the lost work with dock building, construction of retaining walls, and other services to private homes and marinas on the region’s lakes and rivers.

“It’s survival mode,” said John Condon, North Idaho Maritime’s managing partner, who has hired two new employees to work on dock design and sales over the past year.

The shift in business strategy follows the new homes springing up on old mill sites on the water, Condon said. Over the past year, the company added advertisements for piers, pilings, beaches and slip covers to its brochures.

In the past, North Idaho Maritime turned away those jobs, Condon said. The fleet of tugs was too busy hauling logs across the lake to take on tasks for homeowners. Now, the firm is courting customers who may have been rebuffed in the past, Condon said.

“I knew there was a huge need for those services,” said Condon, citing backlogs at other large dock builders on the lake. “But we have to overcome a stigma that we don’t do that kind of stuff.”

As part of a grass-roots advertising effort, North Idaho Maritime is entering a tug on a float in Friday’s Christmas lights parade. Tug boat captain Oscar Mooney will steer the craft down city streets, while signs promote the firm’s new services.

The float is a new concept for the company’s 15 employees, who are used to keeping a low profile, Condon said.

The change in corporate strategy started last November, when Seattle-based Foss Maritime sold its tug operations and Blackwell Island marina to developer John Stone and partners. Two Stimson mills – the Atlas and the DeArmond – accounted for about 75 percent of operation’s revenue.

The company was renamed North Idaho Maritime. Condon invested heavily on barges, cranes and backhoes to expand the range of services the firm could offer.

North Idaho Maritime is currently finishing up a boat house for Mica Bay homeowner Ted Drysdale. The company built the foundations and floats for the boat house, whose cedar siding and copper cupola matches Drysdale’s residence. The boat house will act as a garage for Drysdale’s two vintage wooden boats. The boat house’s foundation was built at the company’s headquarters on Blackwell Island, and floated to Mica Bay.

Condon sees more projects like Drysdale’s in the company’s future. He also envisions a future presence for the firm on Hayden Lake and Lake Pend Oreille.

The transformation of the tug’s business reflects broader structural changes in North Idaho’s economy. Founded in 1918 by Al Lafferty, the tug company built its business around hauling logs from the timber-rich St. Joe region across Lake Coeur d’Alene to local mills.

After the Atlas Mill closes, the DeArmond will be the only remaining waterfront mill.