''Elk'' was a steam tug that operated on Puget Sound, and earlier, from 1880 to 1896, on

Lake Washington Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It borders the cities of Seattle on the west, ...

under the name of ''Katherine''.

Career

''Elk'' was originally constructed at

Houghton, Washington Houghton is one of the lakeside neighborhoods of the city of Kirkland, Washington. Consisting mostly of upscale, single-family homes, Houghton overlooks Lake Washington and is one of the wealthier districts of the Eastside suburbs of Seattle. ...

, and launched under the name ''Katherine''. ''Katherine'' was long, on the beam, and rated at 14.25 registered tons. ''Katherine'' operated on

, and by 1895, was owned by Capt J.C. O'Connor, who had been born in New York in 1846. O'Connor had been involved with steamboats on Lake Washington since 1874, when he had worked on the steamer ''Chehalis'' In 1896, Capt. O.G. Olsen (d. 1924) bought the steamboat ''Katherine''. Olsen was a native of Norway who came to Pacific Coast in 1883. Olsen rebuilt ''Katherine'' as a tug and took the vessel to Puget Sound to operate out of Tacoma as a tug under the name of ''Elk'', the first vessel of what became the Olsen Tug Boat Company.

Stranding

In 1909, while operating under the Seattle concern of Crosbie Towing Co., ''Elk'' was towing a barge loaded with telephone cable intended for the Kitsap County Telephone Company, ''Elk'' went aground near Restoration Point. As a result, the vessel suffered extensive damage, including breaking the tail shaft, rudder shaft and keel. ''Elk'' was not a total loss, and the vessel was able to be removed to the King and Winge shipyard in West Seattle where repairs were made.

Disposition

''Elk'' is reported to have burned in 1911.Newell, ''Inland Sea'', at 207.

Notes

References

* Newell, Gordon R., ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, WA (1966) * Newell, Gordon R., ''Ships of the Inland Sea'', Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, WA (2nd Ed. 1960) * * * {{Puget Sound propellers 1880 ships Steamboats of Washington (state) Steam tugs Steam tugs of Washington (state) Propeller-driven steamboats of Washington (state)