PAST PROJECTS

Sometime when the Navy had a far bigger presence in RI than it does now, it built hundreds of heavy oblong iron-bound wooden boxes called ‘camels’. They float mostly submerged, with only the heavy steel lifting rings showing above the surface of the water. No one seems to know precisely what they were for: some think they were floats for the anti-submarine net; others say they were used as fenders between rafted-up ships.

But whatever their purpose, they were very well constructed. The timbers are 12X12” yellow pine, well impregnated with creosote, and held together by heavy steel strapping joined by ¾” steel rods most places, and 2” thick rods at the corners and amidships.

Over the years, Clean the Bay has removed over 100 of these camels from the shores of Narragansett Bay. Some were refloated and towed to the Navy base for disposal; others had to be cut up small and placed in a dumpster.