Dode (steamboat)

''Dode'' was a steamboat that ran on Hood Canal and Puget Sound from 1898 to 1900.

Construction

''Dode'' was originally the schooner '' William J. Bryant''. Prior to construction as the ''Dode'', the ''Bryant'' had been one of a flotilla of Gold Rush ships sent to Alaska. Most of the vessels were older, some had been pulled off mud flats and given a paint job, which led a newspaper of the time to call them "floating coffins."

In 1898, following return from Alaska, the ''Bryant'' was rebuilt into a propeller steamer for Capt Dan Troutman's Hood Canal service. The rebuilt vessel was named ''Dode'' after his nickname for his wife, Dora Wells Troutman, who was also a licensed captain. The Troutmans owned a farm at the small Hood Canal town of Lilliwaup.Newell and Williamson, ''Pacific Steamships'', at 98 and 103/ Captain Dan Troutman is reported to have mysteriously disappeared in 1899, forcing Dora Troutman to take over full management the ''Dode.''Faber, ''Steamer's Wake'', at 90, 106-107, 134, and 136.

Hood Canal route

By 1900, ''Dode'' was the only boat on the Hood Canal route, which started at Seattle and included landings at Kingston, Port Gamble, Seabeck, Brinnon, Holly, Dewatto, Lilliwaup Falls, Hoodsport and Union City. ''Dode'' typically left Pier 3 (now Pier 54) on a Tuesday, made all the stops on the run on that day, and then returned on the same route the next day to Seattle.

Transfer to Bellingham interests

In 1902, Captain C.E. Curtis acquired ''Dode'', with plans to run the vessel with another steamer, the ''Willapa'', which Curtis had acquired from the Canadian Pacific steamship service. Curtis, doing business as the Bellingham Bay Transportation Company, renamed ''Willapa'' as ''Bellingham''. During 1903, the rapidly growing Puget Sound Navigation Co. acquired Bellingham Transportation Company, but ''Dode'' and ''Willapa'' did not go to PSN operational control until the spring of 1904.

Collision and grounding

On December 6, 1903, in heavy fog, ''Willapa'', by then renamed ''Bellingham'', was towing ''Dode'' to Whatcom for repairs, the vessels still being run by the Bellingham Bay company. The fast steamer ''Flyer'' pulled away from the Seattle dock en route to Tacoma and five minutes later ''Bellingham'' collided with ''Flyer''. ''Dode'', under tow and unable to maneuver, also collided with ''Flyer''. ''Flyer'' was badly, but not irreparably damaged. No one was injured. Flyer's passengers were taken off by boats from nearby vessels. Shortly after ''Dode'' was taken over by PSN, the company was hit by a seaman's strike. The workers, who were seeking pay of $45 per month, shut down operation of all the company's boats for a while, but in the end they obtained their raise and returned to work.

In 1904, with PSN now fully in control of the Bellingham company's boats, ''Dode'' was placed on routes connecting the various lumber company ports. On May 4, 1907, while proceeding in a heavy fog, ''Dode'' ran aground on Marrowstone Island near Fort Flagler. This proved to be not serious, as ''Dode'' was gotten off with only minor damage.

Loss

On July 20, 1910, ''Dode'' was lost permanently, striking a rock and sinking, again off Marrowstone Island.

Notes

References

* Faber, Jim, ''Steamer's Wake'', Enetai Press, Seattle, Washington (1985)
* Newell, Gordon R., ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, Washington (1966)
* Newell, Gordon R., ''Ships of the Inland Sea'', Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, Washington (2nd Ed. 1960)
* Newell, Gordon R, and Williamson, Joe, ''Pacific Steamships'', Superior Publishing, Seattle, Washington (1958)

U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, Bureau of Statistics, ''Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States'' (for year ending June 30, 1909)

{{1910 shipwrecks

1898 ships
Steamboats of Washington (state)
Maritime incidents in 1903
Maritime incidents in 1910
Shipwrecks of the Washington coast
Puget Sound Navigation Company