SS Master

• Year Built: 1922
• Flag: Canada
• LOA: 26m/85’
• Beam: 6m/19’5”
• Draft: 2.8m/9’ 2”
• Engine: Triple Expansion Steam Engine
• Builder: Arthur Moscrop
• Gross Tonnage: 225 tonnes
• Home Port: Steveston, BC

One of only a few remaining steam-powered tugboats, the SS Master was built in 1922 at Beach Avenue Shipyard in False Creek. Designed and built by renowned tugboat builder Arthur Moscrop, the SS Master still operates with her original WW1 surplus steam engine. Throughout her life, the SS Master worked the waters of the Pacific Northwest towing logs and barges throughout the region. Retired and left for scrap in 1962, the SS Master was purchased by the SS Master Society for $500 and has since undergone extensive restorations.

Providence

• Year Built: 1903
• Flag: Canadian
• LOA: 24m/80’
• Beam: 5.5m/18’
• Draft: 2.2m/7’ 1”
• Builder: Nielson & Son, Denmark
• Gross Tonnage: 36.39 tonnes
• Home Port: Steveston, BC

Providence was built in 1903 as a North Sea anchor seiner by Nielson & Son of Frederikshavn, Denmark. In 1939, after several decades of active work fishing in the North Sea, she was chartered to the Danish Navy. From 1939 until 1976, Providence, struck from the civil registry and given the naval call sign Y340, served in the Danish Navy, German Navy and Danish Home Guard. In 1978, she was bought by Peter-Thor Watson and sailed to BC where she has lived and worked ever since. In early 2017, Providence was sold to Simon Fawkes and Danny Robertson who plan to work her in sail cargo and as a charter in the Salish Sea and along the West Coast. She is well equipped with a full galley (kitchen), two heads (bathrooms), a large salon, a large wheelhouse and overnight berths for up to 15 guests and crew.

Gikumi

• Year Built: 1954
• Flag: Canadian
• LOA: 18.3m/60’
• Beam: 5.2m/17’
• Draft: 1.9m/6’ 2”
• Engine: Caterpillar Diesel 3406C
• Designer: Robert Allan Sr.
• Builder: Bisset & Gilstein, North Vancouver
• Gross Tonnage: 42 tonnes
• Home Port: Richmond, BC

From her launch on Labour Day 1954 to the early eighties, Gikumi worked delivering freight and towed logs and scows out of her home port of Telegraph Cove. She even did some ship docking and worked as a pilot boat over her long career. When the mill closed in Telegraph Cove, Gikumi became BC’s first whale watching vessel and remained in Telegraph Cove providing tours to the spectacular Broughton Archipelago until 2017.

The renowned Naval Architect Robert Allan Sr. designed this famous west coast work boat to service the Broughton Lumber and Trading Company saw mill in Telegraph Harbour. She was built by Bisset and Gilstein boatyard in North Vancouver. The name “Gikumi” means “Chief” in the tongue of the Namgis First Nation (Alert Bay) in the dialect know as Kwakwala.

Delta Lifeboat

• Year Built: 1944
• Flag: Canada
• LOA: 15.9m/52’
• Beam: 3.9m/12’ 8”
• Draft: 1.5m/5’
• Engine: Detroit G.M.
• Engine (hp): 157
• Builder: U.S. Navy
• Gross Tonnage: 30 tonnes
• Home Port: Ladner, BC

The Delta Lifeboat was built in Pearl Harbour in 1944. She operates out of Ladner under the flag of the Canadian Lifeboat Institution (CLI) and the City of Delta. The CLI is a volunteer Search and Rescue organization whose main objective is to patrol during certain fisheries and other events and to prevent accidents at sea. They are a search and rescue partner working together with professionals and other volunteers to save lives at sea.

The CLI dedicates much of its service conducting safety patrols especially during herring and salmon fisheries to ensure assistance is always close at hand. The all-volunteer crew continue to provide search and rescue services in the Gulf of Georgia and Fraser Estuary. As of today, over 890 marine incidents have been handled by the “Delta Lifeboat.”

Double Eagle

• Year Built: 1947
• Flag: Canadian
• LOA: 18.3m/60’
• Beam: 5.5m/18’ 2″
• Draft: 2.5m/8′ 1″
• Engine Make: Detroit Diesel
• Top Speed: 11.2 knots
• Gross Tonnage: 45 tonnes
• Home Port: Vancouver, BC

Double Eagle was designed by J. Barnes Lusby and was the last of the custom yachts built by the M. M. Davis & Son yard on Solomon’s Island, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland in 1947. The Double Eagle was fabricated for a yachting enthusiast by the name of George Marshall Jones Jr. George used the yacht for family holidays through the Chesapeake Bay area for over 30 years.

In the 1970’s the family sold the vessel and she was then brought through he Panama Canal and up to San Diego. Always well cared for the vessel was eventually donated to the California Maritime Academy Foundation and was used to carry dignitaries around the San Diego Bay area. The Double Eagle was purchased by Randall Olafson in 2004 and after taking her to Mexico, brought her up to her new home port of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Spirit of Hastings

• Year Built: 2013
• Flag: Canadian
• LOA: 11m/33′
• Draft: 0.6m/2′
• Home Port: Steveston, BC

The Spirit of Hastings is named after 35-year RCMSAR and retired CCG member, Barry R. Hastings. Barry’s life was dedicated to boating safety and helping those in need. The vessel is unique, with its twin water-jet propulsion system. This means there are no propellers below the hull line reducing exposure to river debris. The vessel is capable of 37kts speed and rated to sustained 50kt wind speed. As well, the vessel is capable to automatically re-right itself. Based out of Steveston Harbour, the Spirit of Hastings responds to more than 30 calls for assistance each year and is crewed 24/7/365 by the members of Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue – Richmond – Station 10.

Larkin

• Year Built: 1965
• Flag: Canadian
• LOA: 6.4m/21′
• Beam: 2.3m/7′ 6″
• Engine: 115hp outboard
• Builder: Cruisers Inc.
• Home Port: Richmond, BC

In the early 1950’s to late 1960’s, the golden era of wood family boats, Cruisers Inc., a secondary company to Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Co., was responsible for producing some of the world’s finest examples of lapstrake boats. 1956 marks the Cruisers product catalog debut with a total of 12 different models, ranging from 14 to 20 feet long. By 1960, Cruisers was building approximately 3,000 boats annually. As fibreglass boats hit the scene and customers abandoned wooden vessels en masse, production decreased to only 800 boats in the 1965 season.

As one of the last boats, this 1965 Cruiser’s Inc. “Camper Edition” is a terrific example and testament to the Thompson family’s belief that a well built wooden boat would outperform and outlive any fiberglass version of itself. Originally owned by a family in Washington, it has been lovingly maintained and cared for throughout its life, providing many decades of enjoyment. Recently acquired by new owners, the boat has undergone a top to bottom restoration and refit to ensure the boat will last another 50+ years.

Silver Ann

• Year Built: 1969
• Flag: Canadian
• LOA: 11.3m/37’
• Beam: 2.9m/9’ 6”
• Draft: 1.3m/4′ 3″”
• Engine: Ford I-6 Series 240 gas engine
• Builder: Sadajiro Asari
• Gross Tonnage: 8.84 tonnes
• Home Port: Steveston, BC

Built in 1969, the Silver Ann was one of the last wooden gillnetters to be fabricated in Steveston on the banks of the Fraser River. It was built at the Richmond Boat Builders building located now at Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site. This wooden gillnetter was commissioned by George Osaka and named the Silver Ann to commemorate his silver wedding anniversary. It was built by Sadajiro Asari who built boats on Sea Island. He was one of more than 20 Japanese boat builders in township of Richmond during the early development of the fishing industry. Each fishing cannery had its own boat builders on site.

George Osaka fished with the Silver Ann for fifteen years from 1969 to 1984 until his retirement when he sold it to David Hoffman. In November 2001, the Silver Ann was acquired by the City of Richmond to undergo a complete restoration in the Richmond Boat Builders.

Jimmy Ng

• Year Built: 2004
• Flag: Canadian
• LOA: 8.5m/28’
• Beam: 3m/10′
• Draft: 0.9m/3′
• Home Port: Steveston, BC

This boat is named after fallen RCMP officer Jimmy Ng, who volunteered with the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR) in his hometown of Richmond. With a top speed of 39 knots, RCMSAR volunteers crew this vessel when responding to distress situations in the Fraser River and the Strait of Georgia. Members go through extensive training before they qualify as Search and Rescue (SAR) crew. In addition, the volunteer organization contributes hundreds of hours annually in support of boating safety in the community. RCMSAR Richmond Station 10 leverages two Dedicated Response Vessels (DRV) that are considered Fast Response Craft (FRC). Both are Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIB) designed to taken on the environment, keep volunteers safe and bring those in trouble home.

Small Fry

• Year Built: 1941
• Flag: Canadian
• LOA: 4.9m/16″

Mr. Harry Thomas, of Nelson Island, requested construction of this carve-planked boat by a notable local shipwright. It was launched in Pender Harbour in August of 1941. Her home port over the ensuing years was Ballet Bay. The Thomas family utilized the vessel in many capacities over the next four decades; including salmon fishing, and contacting supply boats to pick up goods as well as Nelson Island mail. It was restored by boat builder Robert R. Lalley, of Duncan, BC. In 1981. Since 1982, Small Fry has been moored at the Pedder Bay Marina in Metchosin, Vancouver Island. The boat is totally operational. It is one of the few, if not the only, small craft with a working Easthope 4-6 engine.

Ella McKenzie

• LOA: 11m/36′
• Beam: 3.3m/11′ 1″
• Draft: 1.4m/4′ 6″

The Ella McKenzie was built in 1951 by McKenzie Tug and Derrick at the Dollarton Shipyard in North Vancouver. She worked in the waters around the Burrard Inlet as a dredge tender and oil spill response vessel. Later in her working life she was used for hand logging around Haida Gwaii. After a long working career Ella was rebuilt in 2007 and converted to a pleasure craft.

Hai Long

• Type of Vessel: Chinese Junk Sailing Ship
• Number of Masts: 2
• Year Built: 1968
• Flag: Canadian
• LOA: 11.6m/38′
• Beam: 3.8m/12′ 4″
• Draft: 1.4m/4′ 6″
• Engine: Volvo Penta diesel
• Builder: Cheoy Lee (Hong Kong)
• Gross tonnage: 15 tonnes
• Homeport: Charlottetown, PEI (soon to be Steveston, BC)

Hai Long is a rare find, a true and authentic, Hong Kong-built, all-teakwood Chinese Junk Ship with full provenance. She is authentic and original in every regard, including her large, fenestrated rudder, ornate woodwork and brightwork and her robust teakwood ribs and framework. Her overall condition is remarkable, a pure testament to the previous owners who grew old with Hai Long, having commissioned her bespoke construction in 1968 and making the decision in 2016 to sell to her present owners, the Gisbornes. She spent all of her 55 years on the East Coast of Canada, only recently making her debut in Steveston after a long haul. With her sails in full bloom, she cuts an impressive profile and becomes the primary subject of discussion amongst all in view of her.