''Comox'' was a steamship built in 1891 in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
which served until 1920. ''Comox'' was the first steel ship built on the west coast of North America north of San Francisco.
Design and construction
''Comox'' was built in 1891. The components of the vessel were manufactured in
Paisley, Scotland
Paisley ( ; sco, Paisley, gd, Pàislig ) is a large town situated in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Located north of the Gleniffer Braes, the town borders the city of Glasgow to the east, and straddles the banks of the White Cart Wate ...
, and then shipped to
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, where they were assembled by Henry Darling. When complete, Comox was 101 feet long, with a beam of 18 feet and 5-foot depth of hold. Overall size of the vessel was 101 gross tons. The hull was steel, and ''Comox'' was the first steel ship built on the Pacific coast north of San Francisco.
[Newell, ed., ''McCurdy Marine History'', page 156.] As built, ''Comox'' could accommodate almost 200 passengers.[
The power plant was a double-expansion ]steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
, manufactured by Bow McLachlan & Co., Glasgow, Scotland
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. The engines had a high-pressure cylinder 12 inches in diameter, low-pressure of 24-inch diameter, and a stroke of 18 inches, and drove the ship at 11 miles per hour. Coal consumption was 4.5 tons in 24 hours.[The New Mills' List, "Registered Canadian Steamships 1817-1930 over 75 feet"]
(accessed June 17, 2011).[Wright, ed.]
''Lewis and Dryden Marine History''
page 391.
''Comox'' had an auxiliary sailing rig as a sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
.[
]
Operation
''Comox'' was completed in October 1891.[Steveston Museum, Richmond, BC]
(accessed June 18, 2011). After completion, ''Comox'' was placed on routes running north from Vancouver.[ Christ Dragoylovich (born 1857), a native of ]Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, was the vessel's chief engineer.[Wright, ed.]
''Lewis and Dryden Marine History''
page 467. ''Comox'' ran to logging camps on week days, and was used for excursions on weekends.[ By 1909, ''Comox'' had made 2,000 trips out of Vancouver harbor.][
]
Disposition
''Comox'' was sold for scrap in 1919, but was not dismantled. Instead, the vessel was sold to Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
interests and transferred south, under the name ''Alejandro''.
Notes
References
* Newell, Gordon R., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', Superior Publishing, Seattle WA (1966).
* Wright, E.W., ed.
''Lewis and Dryden Marine History of the Pacific Northwest''
Lewis & Dryden Publishing, Portland OR (1895) page 467 (accessed June 18, 2011).
Further reading
* Rushton, Gerald A., ''Whistle up the Inlet – The Union Steamship Story'', J.J. Douglas (1974).
{{Steamboats British Columbia
1891 ships
Steamships of Canada
Union Steamship Company of British Columbia