Tressa May
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 Tressa May on Yaquina Bay, probably June 1887. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tressa May |
| Route | Yaquina Bay |
| In service | 1883 |
| Out of service | 1888 |
| Identification | U.S. 145364 |
| Fate | Dismantled |
| Notes | Wooden hull |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Inland passenger |
| Tonnage | 48.84 gross tons, 39.60 net tons |
| Length | 57 ft (17.37 m) |
| Beam | 14.5 ft (4.42 m) |
| Depth | 5.0 ft (1.52 m) |
| Installed power | steam engine, later |
| Propulsion | propeller |
Tressa May was a steamboat that was operated in the Yaquina Bay region of Oregon from 1883 to 1888.
Tressa May was built in East Portland, Oregon in 1883.[1] The boat was commissioned by Capt. Stephen B. Ives, and launched under the name Robert G. Ingersoll, as Capt. Ives was an admirer of that orator.[2] Ives encountered financial difficulties and had to sell the new boat.[2] The new owners renamed the vessel Tressa May.[2]
Dimensions and power
The boat was 57 ft (17.37 m) long with a beam of 14.5 ft (4.42 m) and depth of hold of 5.0 ft (1.52 m).[1] Tressa May measured out at 48.84 gross tons (a measurement of carrying capacity, not weight) and 39.60 net tons.[1] The official merchant vessel registry number was 145364.[3]
Tressa May was the first steamer on the west coast to be fitted with a Westinghouse engine.[2]
Operations
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In 1886 the home port for Tressa May was Portland, Oregon.[3] The boat however had been operating in Yaquina Bay since August 1885, if not earlier.[2][4]
On Saturday August 8, 1885, when Tressa May was under the command of Captain Dodge, the boat was making a landing at a dock when the vessel was backed into a scow, which broke the propeller.[4] Tressa May was replaced on the route by the Benton for the day.[4] The next Monday morning, August 10, 1885, Captain Dodge went to Portland for a replacement propeller.[4]
In 1886 Tressa May was purchased by James T. Chatterton (b. 1851), who had earlier run the boat for a few months on a sea otter hunting expedition.[2] One source reports that Tressa May had been built for sea-going work as Robert G. Ingersoll, but had been converted to a riverine freight and passenger service by Chatterton when he bought the boat in 1886.[5]
On March 28, 1886, Tressa May was aground at Newport, Oregon.[6]
In 1887, the home port for Tressa May was Yaquina City, Oregon.[7]
In June 1887, D.H. Welch, owner of the sternwheeler Montesano, raced against Tressa May on Yaquina Bay from Yaquina City to Newport.[8] Both vessels arrived at almost the same time, with Montesano just a little ahead.[8]
In December 1887, Chatterton, captain of Tressa May, was fined $1,000 in U.S. District Court for carrying excessive passengers on the steamer.[9]