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Sternwheel snagboat W. T. PRESTON A National Historic Landmark 163.6' x 34.9' x 3.8' Displacement of 490 g. A paddlewheel of 18' in width. Built at Lake Union Shipyards 1929 for the Army Corps of Engineers. Aboard todayCaptain George Murch Mate standing on the deadhead is Norman Hamburg Deckhand in white is Bill Morgan Other deckhand is Stan Nelson Donkey Driver is John Brophy Identification courtesy of Dennis Hamburg, son of the mate. Low-res scan from an original photo by Roy Scully dated 1958. From the archives of the S.P.H.S.© |
"The majestic sternwheeler W. T. PRESTON no longer churns the waters of the Puget Sound.
She was still trim and in working condition, gleaming with a fresh paint job, the PRESTON was nudged out of port for the last time on 23 May 1983 by two tugboats--a relic in an age that values the young and new.
And so, because of 'budget considerations, the PRESTON was retired. She was ushered through the Ballard Locks on its way to Anacortes, Fidalgo Island, in Skagit County, where she will be turned into a land-based maritime museum.
It's a shame, really,' lamented the PRESTON's last skipper, Capt. Sandy Welsh.
It is still able to operate, and it could be performing a needed job.'
Welsh, who spent seven years aboard the PRESTON, knows of only one other working sternwheeler in North America -- a dredge boat based in Saint Louis. For a long time, the PRESTON was one of only three on the West Coast.
Built in 1929, the 163-ft PRESTON became a Puget Sound mainstay, as likely to show up at the Seattle Seafair hydroplane races as at a Skagit River storm-salvage job.
The PRESTON's assignment was to rid waterways of 'snags' –– dangerous logs, uprooted stumps. storm or dredge debris. It has a draft of only 3.5-ft, allowing it to ride high in the water while it yanked up obstructions with a hook, winch, and cable.
During a typical year, the PRESTON pulled up 3,500 snags, 1,100 cubic yards of junk and debris, and 3,500 cubic yards of dredging.
Its toughest jobs were a 65-ton dragline crane it yanked out of the Skagit River and a mine sweep it pulled from Lake Union, recalled Capt. Norman Ronning, who went from deckhand to skipper during his 30-years aboard the PRESTON.
What gained the PRESTON fame in Puget Sound, though, was its distinctive three-story superstructure and paddlewheel. People would wave and holler from shore or other boats, and always had cameras ready for its appearance.
'This boat was probably the most photographed thing around,' Ronning noted.
With a crew of 14, the sternwheeler cost $2,000 a day to operate. The Army Corps of Engineers retired it two years ago, saying the boat was too expensive to operate.' The corps' other debris boat requires a crew of just three.
Welsh feels the PRESTON could still 'pay its own way. The snag problem is going to be here till the end of time as long as we've got trees.'
But the PRESTON, full of artifacts, photographs, and memorabilia, has been relegated to the tourist scene."
Paul Andrews, "W.T. PRESTON sails to retirement", Seattle-Times, May 24 1983.
from the archives of the Saltwater People Historical Society.
The W.T. Preston is still looking grand as part of the collection of the Anacortes History Museum, Fidalgo Island, WA. Here is a link to her dry berth to view more on this retired worker bee. W.T. PRESTON at Anacortes, WA.
Other officers and crew:
Gust Hamburg, Capt. Norman Hamburg, Stan Nelson, Bill Morgan, Ole Linder, Captain Siegel, John Brophy, Capt. Sandy Welsh, Capt. Norman Ronning,
Chief Engineer Chris Hanson, Fritz the cook.
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