Big Mac Barge Honors Riverman

Most men nicknamed “Mac” have a Scottish or Irish surname that begins “Mac” or “Mc.” But according to Michael Taylor, owner of Paducah Barge, his father-in-law Mike Marshall acquired that nickname because that’s how Kentuckians pronounced his first name.

“‘Mac’ is ‘Mike’ with the Kentucky accent they have in Marshall County,” Taylor told The Waterways Journal.

The Big Mac barge, launched by Paducah Barge in the third week of February, is named after Mac, who had a long career on the rivers before dying of diabetes at age 64.

“He worked for Ingram early in his career, owned and operated his own towing and leasing company in the 80s and owned and managed a small rental fleet late in his career,” Taylor said.

Taylor, who retired from the Army to enter into the marine industry with “Mac,” said, “He was a big man himself, and with the nickname ‘Mac’ fully adopted by his grandchildren, the naming of this barge was easy for others to remember and special for us as it helps us remember and hopefully honor him.”

The Big Mac barge is 150 feet long by 60 feet wide and was built by James Built Paducah.

“We build most of our barges ourselves, but we contract out some larger ones,” Taylor said. Paducah Barge also converts hopper barges to deck and crane barges.

Apart from its deck and crane barges rental fleet, Paducah Barge specializes in smaller truckable boats for on-site work pushing equipment around.

“We’ve had to reinvent ourselves several times, and we’ve found a niche that is currently working for us, until we need to reinvent again!” said Taylor.