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| Babs Cameron at the helm of her 60th birthday present, S.L. MAGGIE, photo dated 1964. Photos by Wally Howland of Shaw Island, WA and San Francisco. Click to enlarge. |
Text by Skip Bold, Wasp Passage, Shaw Island, WA.
submitted to Saltwater People Historical Society Log
5 May 2017
"Babs and Coonie Cameron were interested in marine steam before they moved to the San Juans in 1961. She and Coonie found MAGGIE, a 16' Poulsbo salmon troller in Port Townsend in the 1940s or early 1950s. She was built by Ron Young.
The previous owner had installed an awkward plywood box for a cabin. Coonie, with his sensitive architect's eye, toned this down with a visor and radiused window corners. He took out the loud 9-HP Wisconsin inboard and had Cliff Blackstaffe, of Victoria BC, build MAGGIE a 2-HP steeple compound engine and an oil fired horizontal water-tube boiler.
Blackstaffe personally delivered the steam plant to Shaw Island in early 1964 and instructed Coonie on the installation and use.
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| Malcolm 'Coonie' and Margaret 'Babs' Cameron aboard their restored S. L. MAGGIE, near Shirttail Reef, San Juan Archipelago, WA. 1964. Click to enlarge. |
Some of MAGGIE's touches crafted by Coonie were lovely teak and bronze handmade cleats and handsome teak steam valve handles to prevent burnt hands.
Coonie was on the San Juan County Planning Commission at the time and usually took MAGGIE to Friday Harbor for meetings, a unique mode of commuting in the mid 20th century!
They enjoyed MAGGIE for several years and eventually sold her to an Orcas Island friend.
Their next maritime adventure was PIAVE, a 60-year-old tug/fish boat found in San Pedro, rebuilt over a winter in Sausalito and brought up the coast to Shaw. That's another story."
Is this boat still around?
ReplyDeleteHi KP, I'd love to know. The last I heard a few years ago, she was being restored once more after being left in the bush on Orcas. Maybe someone will update us. Thanks for stopping by.
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