MV ''Kelowna-Westbank'' was a diesel-powered ferry that operated on

Okanagan Lake Okanagan Lake ( oka, kɬúsx̌nítkw) is a lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. The lake is long, between wide, and has a surface area of 348 km2 (135 sq. mi.). Hydrography Okanagan Lake is called a fjord lake as i ...

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, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

beginning in 1927. Although private ferry service had long been established on the lake, ''Kelowna-Westbank'' became the first provincial government-operated ferry upon her launch on February 21, 1927. She was built by the Department of Public Works as a state-of-the-art vessel and was named after the communities

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

and Westbank, which she and the other ferries linked. She measured long by in beam and she was 104 tons. ''Kelowna-Westbank'' carried two life boats, one life raft, and had a capacity of 15 cars. She solved transportation issues on Okanagan Lake for many years under Captain L. A. Hayman, but traffic steadily increased as the area developed and during the cold winters of the 1930s, she was often unable to provide service. In addition, her wooden hull had begun to deteriorate and she was nicknamed MV ''Holdup''. By 1938, it was clear that ''Kelowna-Westbank'' was no longer able to keep up with demand and she was taken to the shipyard and

Okanagan Landing Okanagan Landing was an unincorporated settlement and steamboat port at the north end of Okanagan Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. Located southwest of the city of Vernon, it was the terminus station for the Shuswap and Okanaga ...

for repairs. However, dry rot had damaged her irreparably and she was retired, with her machinery and equipment stored in Kelowna. The following year, ''Kelowna-Westbank's'' replacement, the steel ferry , was built to continue the ferry service on Okanagan Lake.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelowna-Westbank History of the Okanagan 1927 ships

See also

References