Nice northwest boats

Some of the nice (in my opinion) boats we saw in the Gulf Islands the last two weeks....

Based on the history of a near-identical boat that lived in our marina for a few years, the first two shots are of an ex-Canadian Navy crew boat.* They were used to ferry ship crews to and from warships.

An old USCG (I assume) rollover boat.

A local troller conversion.

The Hannah from (I think) Seattle or Friday Harbor.* We've seen this beauty in the San Juans several times).

A nice sailing dinghy.

What I refer to as a Monterey herring boat but was probably built for the PNW fishery.

Bill Boeing's 1930 Taconite (2), now in private charter service.

The Canadian Navy's training vessel Oriole.

*


-- Edited by Marin on Wednesday 28th of September 2011 01:11:37 PM

Very nice collection. Thanks for posting.

Man I sure like the Petrel* 4 th from the left.

is she a woodie?

SD

Thanks for sharing both of you. You've got some nice wooden boats out your way too. Seems like the upper right and left coasts of this continent, because of the climates (?), are home to a larger number of this these types of boats than elsewhere. Or is it that those areas have more masochists than elsewhere (I used to be one of them)?

Hi Marin,

The first two pics might be an ex BC Forest Service boat. Do you have a way to research it a bit further?

Ah so, good find Willy!

Willy wrote:
*Rick there cadet*training boats.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yag-Caribou.jpg

*probably traveling with the HMCS Oriole sailing vessel.

Click to expand...

I think Willy has successfully determined what the boat in my first two photos used to be, but it's not that anymore.**Like the similar boat that lived in Squalicum*Marina for several years, it's*privately owned and is no longer in service with the Canadian Navy. I took the photo at Thetis Marina.*

When we saw the Oriole it*seemed to be*traveling (loosely) with another similar vessel, this one a big schooner (I think)*with a black hull.* The Oriole is, I believe, a ketch.* In any event, the Oriole moored for the night at the customs dock in Bedwell Harbor while the mysterious black-hulled schooner anchored farther up the bay.* When the Oriole left the next morning it motored up to the black schooner, went around it, and then headed out on its own.

Later that day, after we had cleared customs at Roche, we encountered the Oriole again at the top end of Wasp Passage.* My wife spotted a deer swiming from Bell Island to Shaw across the top of Wasp and it was on a collision course with the Oriole.* But they spotted the deer and made a sharp swerve to avoid it just as the deer turned to swim down the length of the Oriole.* We slowed down to let the deer pass in front of us*and it continued on to Shaw.

dwhatty wrote:
Seems like the upper right and left coasts of this continent, because of the climates (?), are home to a larger number of this these types of boats than elsewhere.

Click to expand...

*This is pure speculation on my part, but I wonder if the similarity in boat types and construction between the PNW/BC and New England/Maritimes is due to the similarity in uses*and fisheries?* Down east you have the lobster fishery as well as the (former) cod fishery.* Out here we have crabbing, bottom fishing (halibut, ling cod, etc.) and salmon.* The coastal environments are similar--- rocky, deeply inletted, large tidal ranges, strong currents, choppy waters.* There was easy access to mills for hihg-quality wood.

Plus a lot of the folks who settled the PNW and BC came from the the northeast and Maritimes so it seems*natural they should build the sort of things that were familar to them.

I found Willy's second to last photo in his first batch to be particularly interesting.* That boat looks like it belongs on Prince Edward Island, not out here in BC.* I took the photo below on PEI-- every lobsterboat on the island, and there are hundreds of them, looks exactly like this one.

Willy--- Were most of the photos you posted taken at one of the Ganges annual workboat festivals? The big tug in your last photo looks very familiar to me; there has been one like it at Ganges each time we've visited there in early September.

Marin,

When I was at Thetis Marina, I was told that several of the old training boats like the one in the picture were sold at auction.* Most of them went for around $5,000. the best of the lot went for $7,500.* A lot of boat for $5,000 and a lot of expense to fix it up and run it.

Lyle

Here are numerous NW boats many of wich I've posted before but since there are always new members I posted them again.

When you see the last pic some or most of you will be saying "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" That's my experiment of 1971. Meet Easy Rider. A 28' prototype design I built in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Remember the story I posted a year or so ago about crossing Dixon Entrance in terrible conditions? Well this is the boat I did it with but w a smaller cabin at the time. It's in between a trimaran and a cathedral hull of ultralight displacement and powered by a 55hp Johnson OB from the late 60s. Burned 3.5gph at 12 to 14 knots depending on fuel load. The boat was very sensitive to load and there-in was it's only big fault. ER was built out of mostly 3/8ths Canadian marine plywood but the house was of 1/4". ER saw Glacier Bay and the San Juan Islands. I wish I had her now.







-- Edited by nomadwilly on Thursday 29th of September 2011 02:18:46 PM

nomadwilly wrote:
Here are numerous NW boats....

Click to expand...

*I have to admit....nothing gets my motor running like seeing these old boats! #3 is my favorite!

nomadwilly wrote:
Here are numerous NW boats many of wich I've posted before but since there are always new members I posted them again.



-- Edited by nomadwilly on Thursday 29th of September 2011 12:51:34 PM

Click to expand...

*Eric, great boats all - there seems to be a strong Bill Garden theme here.

Conrad,

As far as I'm concerned Bill Garden walks on water.

Walt,

I think that's an old forest service boat. My favorite is DUWAM #8

The great numbers of ex work boats that were about in the Gulf Islands and Ganges area was the result of our clubs fall rendezvous. The West Coast Work Boat Assoc. annual fall rendezvous was last weekend (Fri. / Sat. / and Sun) at Ganges (Saltspring Island) with an attendance of 59 vessels, almost all of them ex work boats, the majority ex commercial fishing vessels.
The "Wells Grey" shown in Willy's photos is an ex BC Forest Service patrol boat and is in great shape thanks to her current owner.

Next big showing will be in the spring (April) when our next rendezvous takes place.

John Tones MV Penta
Sidney, BC

Eric wrote "As far as I'm concerned Bill Garden walks on water.

Eric, I don't know if you are aware but Bill passed away earlier this year. Great lost to boating but his designs will be around for years to come.

John Tones MV Penta
Sidney BC

John,

Thanks and no I didn't know. He was one of the great boat designers along w Atkin and many others. They were wonderful as were the boats they created and it's to bad the majority of boats did'nt come from them. I remember an article in PMM about him and some of the special boats he designed. But like you say his designs will live on.

There was an article on Petrel a few years back in Wooden Boat. I believe she is a former Oregon fishing boat that a cabinet maker yachted up. Beautiful work inside. Saw her for sale awhile back on French Creek yacht sales (now Pacific Boat Brokers)

Petrel was built in 1928 and fished the Oregon coast until the 1990's. She was "restored" by a Scott Robinson of Coos Bay Oregon and is now owned by a couple who "home port" her in Port Townsend.
Very nice boat.

John MV Penta
Sidney, BC

If any of you are interested, the West Coast Workboat Assoc. web site is at -

http://www.wwba.ca/ and if you click on the "members" line you can see a lot of our members vessels, those who have added a

picture to their listing anyway.

One of these days an up to date picture of Penta will get posted, probably shortly after spring launching.

John MV Penta
Sidney, BC

I am a bit late on this thread but wanted to post my PNW two favorites from the 2011 summer.

The first is the William Garden designed steel trawler Nightfall as photographed in Blunden Harbour near the northern tip of Vancouver Is. Nightfall was built by Waterline Yachts in Sidney, BC, registered in Montana but based in La Connor, Washington. She was returning from a 4 month Alaska cruise when we saw her in August. Classic Garden lines.
The second is the tug*Union Jack, which I think may have been in a previous post. The Union Jack is steaming out of Bull Harbour to round Cape Scott and travel down the west coast of Vancouver Island. Before she hauled anchor, the owner was pushing around her stern with the tender and I asked him if he needed some help. Nope he says, I just wanted to get her pointed out because she has a direct drive Atlas diesel and it is a chore to get her turned around in this harbour. The Atlas uses compressed air to start the engine in forward or in reverse and he only gets so many starts while the compressor refills the air tank -*so cut and filling can be a chore in a small harbour.

John H,

Very excellent NW marine photography and there's no too late. Grab a 3 year old thread if your post is better w the stuff already discussed, or if it's good background material, or if you wish to refer to it. Too often threads die prematurely. And how can one say there's nothing more to say? And now that we've talked a lot about the topics that are most interesting or important to us bringing up old threads could produce more interesting and important conversation than new threads. Just say'in.

Having spent considerable time in LaConner I'm familiar w Nightfall. Nice boat. Haven't seen her up here though. When anchoring Union Jack they must just stop, kinda guessing exactly where the'll wind up after they dunk the engine and drop the ground tackle. Lots of fishing boats don't set their anchors either unless they know it's going to blow. Thanks again for the pictures and I'm ready for more.

I agree with Eric on all counts but would especially like to compliment your photos John - you have nicely captured a west coast mood here with the mist and almost rain. And beautiful boats too of course.