Suquamish (motor vessel)
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.jpeg) Suquamish | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Suquamish |
| Owner | Kitsap County Transportation Co., Puget Sound Navigation Co. and others |
| Builder | John Wilson |
| Cost | $24,704 |
| In service | 1914 |
| Identification | US registry #212165 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | inland motor vessel |
| Tonnage | 75 gross; 51 registered tons |
| Length | 84.5 ft (25.76 m) |
| Beam | 14.9 ft (4.54 m) |
| Draft | 5 ft (1.52 m) |
| Depth | 7 ft (2.13 m) depth of hold |
| Installed power | diesel engine |
| Propulsion | propeller |
| Speed | 14 miles per hour |
| Capacity | As built: 180 passengers |
| Crew | five (5) |
Suquamish, built in 1914, was the first diesel-engined passenger vessel in the United States. Much later Suquamish was converted to a commercial fishing vessel and was registered as a Canadian vessel under the name Terry.
Suquamish was named after the town of Suquamish, which in turn was named after the Suquamish tribe, whose most famous member was Chief Seattle. Suquamish was also known as “Hyak's pup”, after a much larger steamboat of the Kitsap County Navigation Company.[1]
Design and construction
Suquamish was designed by Lee and Brinton and built at the John Wilson shipyard in Seattle. Suquamish was of all wooden construction, 84.5 feet (25.8 m) long, 14.9 feet (4.5 m) beam, 7-foot (2.1 m) depth of hold, a 5-foot (1.5 m) draft, 75 gross tons and 51 registered tons.[2][3] Suquamish cost $24,704 to construct.[4][5]
The vessel carried 180 passengers.[3] In 1922 Suquamish was reported as requiring a crew of five.[5] As built, propulsion was provided by a 180-horsepower Nelseco four-cycle, six-cylinder, vertical single-acting diesel engine, built by the New London Ship & Engine Building Company, of Groton, Connecticut. The engine ran at 350 revolutions per minute, giving the vessel a speed of 14 miles per hour. The cost for fuel and lubricating oil averaged only 24 cents per hour. Suquamish carried a supply of fuel oil for two weeks, although there was space for a month's supply. Only one man was required for handling the engine, although, because the vessel was in operation from 6 am to 8 pm., two engineers were required to stand alternate watches.[3]
Ceremonial launching
Aware of the significance of the name, Warren L. Gazzam (1864–1861), president of the Kitsap County Transportation Company invited members of the Suquamish nation as well as pioneer settlers to the launching on April 28, 1914, which included an address in Chinook Jargon. The vessel was christened by Blanche Thompson, a great-great-granddaughter of Chief Seattle.[2]