A MODEL MAKER DOES HIS MOSQUITO RESEARCH

The S.S. Bailey Gatzert was an important sternwheelin' gal who caught our attention and yours with a lengthy post in 2016. Her looks also caught the attention of the skilled craftsman, Ralph Hitchcock, who has written below about the requirements needed to see her fine lines come to life again.

S.S. BAILEY GATZERT
Built by the J.J. Holland Yard, 
Ballard, Washington & launched in 1890.
Her first master was Capt. George Hill.
Out of service in 1925.
Original photo from the archives of the
Saltwater People Historical Society©

"The sternwheeler Bailey Gatzert was a very historic vessel known around the nation. She so impressed the author that a special file of information was started over 30 years ago with additions being made from time to time. She was certainly a mosquito fleet vessel of special interest.
      The Bailey Gatzert was built in Ballard in 1890 for the Seattle Steam Navigation & Transportation Company. Her registered dimensions were 177.3' x 32.3' x 8'. These remained her dimensions until 1907. Her steam machinery was supplied by James Ross & Sons, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The popper valve engines were 22" diameter by 84" stroke. She was non-condensing. It is assumed that her boiler was built in the Pacific Northwest.
      The Gatzert operated on the Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia run until 1892, when she was acquired by the Columbia River & Puget Sound Navigation Co and transferred to the Columbia. There she engaged in the excursion trade until 1895 and then operated on the Portland-Astoria run.
      Apparently, her hull became unserviceable, for in 1907 a decision was made to build a new hull and to transfer the passenger cabin, texas, and pilothouse, from the old hull to the new. According to The H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, the engines were transferred to the Gatzert from the Telephone at the time of her rebuild. The hull design was by J.H. Johnson, whose Portland shipyard built the new hull. The new registered dimensions were 194.3' x 32.8-ft x 8'.
      Many photographs show the second Bailey Gatzert running excursions to the Cascade Locks after the 1907 rebuild. No specific reference has been found stating that she ran from Portland to Astoria, but it seems likely that she did.
      In 1917 the Gatzert was purchased by the Navy Yard route affiliate of the Puget Sound Navigation Co, and in 1918 she was towed by the tug Wallula to Puget Sound where she served on the Seattle-Bremerton run starting 18 April 1918. In 1920 she was sponsoned out for additional hull stability, and an elevator was installed on her forward deck, allowing her to carry 30 cars of that day. She was the first car ferry on the Seattle-Bremerton run.
      In 1922 the Gatzert was stripped of her machinery. In 1926 she was taken over by the Lake Union Drydock & Machine Works in Seattle and converted into a floating ways and machine shop. At that time her hull was found to be well-preserved.
      The Bailey Gatzert was a fast sternwheeler. She participated in races on Puget Sound with the Greyhound and the T.J. Potter. The "hound" won two, the Gatzert a third. In the two races with the Potter, each vessel won one race. According to the Railway and Marine News of October 1909, though they never raced against each other, the Hassalo, Telephone (number 2), and Bailey Gatzert were the fastest sternwheelers on the Columbia. The same article quotes Mr. Marcus Talbot, general manager of the Alaska Pacific Steamship Company, as saying, 'The Gatzert is the fastest sternwheeler in the world.'

      Surely such a historic and photogenic vessel deserves to be presented to posterity by an accurate and representative model. However, such a model must be preceded by precise scale drawings showing all external details just as they were on the original vessel. Experience dictates such a procedure. The author prepared detailed drawings to the scale of 1/4" - 1'0" before building models of the Flyer, North Pacific, and J.M. White. The first two of these are in the Washington State Historical Museum in Tacoma, the latter in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. It is interesting to note that 150 detail drawings were prepared and needed to construct the J.M. White model.
      Drawings for the Bailey Gatzert are well underway. One very fortunate basis for these drawings is a drawing of the new (1907) hull for the Gatzert prepared by John H. Johnson, builder of the new hull. The photocopy of this drawing was procured recently from the Oregon Historical Society. As usual, detailed photographs are indispensable to such work. Photos being used for the Gatzert model drawings include twelve from the PSMHS Williamson Collection, eight from the Oregon Historical Society's files, one each from Bill Somers and Bert Giles, as well as numerous photo reproductions from books.
      It is expected that the Gatzert model drawings will be completed by the time this article is in print. Thus a model of the Gatzert could be initiated in 1989 and presented to PSMHS upon completion. The author solicits proposals from one or more experienced model builders to proceed with the Bailey Gatzert model."
      Words by Ralph Hitchcock. The Sea Chest, published by the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society. Seattle, WA.

And the Bailey Gatzert model was completed
by Ralph Hitchcock.
Is this the one he built and but do you know
of her whereabouts? 
Tap image to enlarge.
This photo is dated March 1995.
Original photograph from the archives of the 
Saltwater People Historical Society©

      

❖ BAILEY GATZERT, Once Queen of the Sound

BAILEY GATZERT
ON 3488
Williamson Collection
Original photo from the archives of S.P.H.S.©

"A dingy storeroom float rode at moorings at the plant of the Lake Union Dry Dock & Machine Works. Fishermen climbed aboard to store gear in rows of lockers. The long, narrow frame structure was spacious and conveniently near a score or more of trim schooners repairing, over-hauling or tied up to wait the opening of the 1940 halibut fishing season. Few of the fishermen or busy shipyard employees gave a thought to the fact that beneath the dingy storeroom was the hull of the swift stern-wheeler BAILEY GATZERT, that made steamboat history on Puget Sound and the Columbia River.
      There was a fascination in the name "BAILEY GATZERT" to old-timers on the waterfronts of Puget Sound. There was an air of grandeur about the famed vessel. She was a floating palace in her day. The BAILEY GATZERT met the fate of all ships a number of years ago, but her memory still lives––on Puget Sound and the Columbia River.
     The famed sternwheeler's nameplate, a weather-beaten piece of timber, has adorned a wall in the offices of The Marine Digest in the Canadian National Terminal on the Seattle waterfront ever since she reached the end of her career. Jackson B. Corbet, editor and publisher says it is not unusual for some stranger to come into his office and ask for the privilege of sitting down and gazing at the plate with affection and reverence. 'They come from all over––the Columbia River, San Francisco, and Los Angeles,' Corbet said.
      On Puget Sound, the BAILEY GATZERT is remembered chiefly for her great record in the Seattle-Tacoma and Seattle-Bremerton routes, but she also operated between Seattle and Olympia, plying in this service more than a year in the early part of her career.
      With her wheel, twenty-two feet in diameter, churning the waters of the sound, the BAILEY GATZERT defeated the swift sternwheeler GREYHOUND in an exciting race. Later she left the sidewheeler T.J. POTTER astern in one of the most furious races in the history of the Sound.

BAILEY GATZERT
ON 3488
177.3' x 32.3' x 8'
Williamson Collection.
Original photo from the S.P.H.S.©

      Launched broadside in Ballard in the fall of 1890, the BAILEY GATZERT moved away under her own steam. The launching party which made the journey from Seattle to Ballard by train, was carried by the new vessel on an excursion cruise to Tacoma and return. The vessel was built by the John Holland yard for the Seattle Steam Navigation Co. Her first service was in the Seattle-Tacoma route.
      In 1891 her original owners sold the BAILEY to the Columbia River & Puget Sound Navigation Co, which immediately transferred her to the Seattle-Olympia route. In 1892, the vessel went to the Columbia River. The BAILEY GATZERT's career on the Columbia and her subsequent return to Puget Sound to become one of the queens of the inland sea is an interesting chapter in the history of navigation in this region.
      The BAILEY GATZERT was the finest vessel of her day plying inland waters. Her interior decorations were carried out under the direction of an English artist named Harnett. The panels in her engine room were the work of Capt. Howard Penfield, who was first to hold the position of mate in the vessel. The GATZERTS's first master was Capt. George I. Hill, who had as his engineer, Charles Follett.
      Skippers of the BAILEY GATZERT included Capt. Harry Anderson, now port captain of the Puget Sound Navigation Co; Capt. Gilbert Parker, who took the GATZERT to the Columbia River in 1892, and Capt. R. B. Holbrook, who brought the vessel to Seattle in 1918 after she had been sold by The Dalles, Portland & Astoria Navigation Co to the Navy Yard Route.
      In the spring of 1920, the BAILEY GATZERT became the first automobile ferry between Seattle and Bremerton. The vessel was named for Bailey Gatzert, one of Seattle's most widely known pioneers, who came to this city in 1869. He was a member of the City Council in 1872 and 1877 and was elected mayor in 1875.
     Bailey Gatzert helped to organize the Seattle Drydock & Shipbuilding Co and was its first president. He died 19 April 1893 and as a tribute to a life rich in ability, enterprise, and charity, one of Puget Sound's most remarkable steamboats was named in his honor."
Unidentified publisher. 
Below notes from H.W. McCurdy's Marine History of the PNW. Newell, Gordon. (1966)

Invitation for a passage on the new
Steam Bailey Gatzert
Ballard to  Olympia, Washington
from the archives of the
Saltwater People Historical Society 

1905:
The BAILEY GATZERT was extremely popular during the Lewis & Clark Exposition of this year and a popular song, the Bailey Gatzert March was published. 
1907: 
She was reconstructed with heavier hull & engines. 
Her whistle, one of the most melodious among the Northwest steamboats, and her ornate name board are preserved by Seattle's Museum of History and Industry on South Lake Union.