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Category Archives: Nautical History
2014: “Work is Our Joy” at the Hanthorn Cannery Museum
The Story Of The Columbia River Gillnetter The Columbia River salmon is in trouble, and it’s going to be a long struggle to save any of the remaining runs from extinction. Nowhere is the pinch felt more than in Astoria … Continue reading
2011: Black Ball’s Port Angeles-Victoria Ferry Coho Turns 50
In 55 Years, MV Coho Has “Never Missed a Day!” As I write this, it’s May and the boating season is well under way in the Pacific Northwest. For the most active sailboat racers, that means they are preparing for … Continue reading
Posted in Commercial craft, Nautical History, NW boats and boaters, Shipyards
Tagged black ball line, MV Coho
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1992: The COVE System–COre/Veneer/Epoxy
I invented the term “COVE System” in the 1990’s to describe Schooner Creek Boatworks’ wood-composite boat construction method. COVE which stands for COre/Veneer/Epoxy. It a system that utilizes thin layers of wood for the inner and outer skins and a … Continue reading
A Sailor’s Guide to R.V. Atlantis and “Inner Space”
Last year I had the opportunity to tour the 274′ R.V. (research vessel) Atlantis and its famous submersible Alvin while it was docked in Astoria. Alvin is probably the best known craft of its type in the world, having appeared … Continue reading
Remembering the Lightship Columbia
“The Coast Guard has signed the death warrant for the Columbia River lightship,” wrote Larry Barber at the end of 1979. Two congressmen had asked for “a reprieve,” he noted, after hearings in which fisherman and seafarers had voiced their … Continue reading
Cape Disappointment Lighthouse–is 150 Years Old
Cape Disappointment is Washington’s Oldest Lighthouse There was a small ceremony this winter at Cape Disappointment Lighthouse that marked its 150 years of service to mariners. Cape D was the first light on the entire west coast, and all the … Continue reading
Colin Archer and the Viking Tradition
How a 150-Year Old Pilot Boat Became the World’s #1 Offshore Design Pride in the Norse seafaring tradition is kept alive in the Pacific Northwest by immigrants from the Nordic countries and is visible in many forms. In Seattle for … Continue reading
Scandinavian Canoe Stern Revived in the 20th Century
Colin Archer, the Westsail and More By the 1920s, the sport of yachting had seen several theories of design come and go. There was the narrow beam/long overhang style demanded by the International handicap rule, or the wildly contrasting types … Continue reading
In the Wake of the Vikings
Re-Discovering the Viking Longship The Vikings! From the eighth century until the invasion of England in 1066, they voyaged along the coast of northern Europe and ventured up rivers to raid cities far inland. They were feared from the Baltic … Continue reading
2014: Preservation of James O. Hanthorn Cannery, Astoria
(First published in the Coast River Business Journal) ASTORIA — Fourteen years ago, Floyd Holcom purchased the James O. Hanthorn Cannery with two other investors. Neither of Holcom’s partners are still involved with the waterfront property. However, Holcom maintains a … Continue reading
Posted in Nautical History
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