Triton (steamboat)

Last updated
Triton steamboat ca 1911.jpg
Triton
History
NameTriton
OwnerAnderson Steamboat Company; King County, Washington
Route Lake Washington
BuilderJohn L. Anderson
In service1909
Out of service1916
General characteristics
Typeinland steamboat
Tonnage48 gross tons, 33 net tons
Length78 ft (23.8 m)
Beam18 ft (5.5 m)
Installed power180 horsepower steam engine
Propulsionpropeller
Crew3
NotesOfficial Number 206216

The steamboat Triton was a passenger ferry that operated on Lake Washington in the first part of the 20th century.

Contents

Construction

Triton Triton (steamboat 1906).jpg
Triton

Triton was launched in May 1909 at the Anderson Shipyard on the eastern shore of Lake Washington at Houghton. She was 78 feet long and had a beam of 18 feet. Her displacement was listed as 49 gross tons. [1] She had a 180 horsepower steam engine which was oil-fired. [2] [3]

Triton was built by Captain John Anderson to join his fleet of steamboats on Lake Washington, operating under the name of the Anderson Steamboat Company. Her original cost was reported as $20,000. [4]

“Triton” was the Roman name a god reputed to be the son of Poseidon who was called the “messenger of the deep". Captain Anderson named his vessels after classical gods, starting with Xanthus and Cyrene. Triton was a sister ship to Aquilo , which was also launched in May 1909 by Anderson. [2]

Operation

Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition logo.jpg

Triton's launch coincided with the opening of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition on June 1, 1909, and one of her early routings was to bring visitors from around Lake Washington to the exposition grounds. [2] In 1912, her regular route took her from Leschi Park around Mercer Island and back. [5] In April 1914, the Seattle Port Commission granted a permit for the Triton to dock at its Bellevue and Medina piers. She completed 11 round trips per day from Leschi Park to Bellevue and Medina. [6] By November 1915, however, Anderson Steamboat Company had substituted Dawn on the route and the permit was cancelled. [7]

Triton was also used for holiday and special excursions. On July 4, 1915, she sailed from the Anderson Steamboat Company dock at Leschi Park for a circumnavigation of Mercer Island. The company advertised the trip as "25 miles for 25 cents". [8] On Sunday July 31, 1910, Triton served the annual Seattle Newsboys Union picnic by running between Leschi Park and Wildwood Park. [9]

Triton, sunk on the south shore of Mercer Island Steamboat Triton sunk.png
Triton, sunk on the south shore of Mercer Island

At about 4 p.m. on September 24, 1916, Triton hit a snag off the south end of Mercer Island. The snag punctured the hull but remained in place for several minutes acting as a plug. When the snag fell away, Triton began taking on water rapidly. Captain H. A. Riddle beached the vessel on the south shore of Mercer Island and safely landed the passengers and crew before Triton settled to the bottom on her starboard side. The accident occurred two months after the Lake Washington Ship Canal was opened and the lake level had been lowered by 7 feet (2.1 m). It was hypothesized at the time that this snag was one of many hazards that would be encountered with the lower water levels. [10]

The ship came to rest on a steep underwater slope. The stern sank in 20 feet (6.1 m) of water, while the bow sat on the bottom in 7 feet (2.1 m). The Anderson Steamboat Company carried no insurance on Triton and it was acknowledged at the time that she might not be salvageable. [10] It appears that Triton never sailed again. She is not listed as a company asset as of January 1, 1917 by the Public Service Commission of Washington [11] and drops out of press accounts after her accident.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Washington steamboats and ferries</span> Defunct ferry system in Washington state

Lake Washington steamboats and ferries operated from about 1875 to 1951, transporting passengers, vehicles and freight across Lake Washington, a large lake to the east of Seattle, Washington. Before modern highways and bridges were built, the only means of crossing the lake, other than the traditional canoe or rowboat, was by steamboat, and, later, by ferry. While there was no easily navigable connection to Puget Sound, the Lake Washington Ship Canal now connects Lake Washington to Lake Union, and from there Puget Sound is reached by way of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.

<i>Aquilo</i> (steamboat)

The steamboat Aquilo operated on Lake Washington and Puget Sound in the first part of the 20th century.

<i>Fortuna</i> (steamboat)

The steamboat Fortuna was a vessel that operated on Lake Washington in the first part of the 20th century.

<i>L.T. Haas</i> (steamboat)

The steamboat L.T. Haas was a vessel that operated on Lake Washington in the first part of the 20th century.

<i>Urania</i> (steamboat) American passenger and merchant ship (1907–1941)

The steamboat Urania was a vessel that operated on Lake Washington and Puget Sound in the first part of the 20th century.

<i>Cyrene</i> (steamboat)

Cyrene was a steamboat that operated initially on Puget Sound and later on Lake Washington from 1891 to 1914. Cyrene and another similar vessel Xanthus were somewhat unusual in that they had clipper bows and were both originally built as yachts.

<i>Lady of the Lake</i> (1897 steamboat)

Lady of the Lake was a wooden steamboat that operated on Puget Sound from 1897 to 1903. Following a fire in 1903, the vessel was rebuilt as the tug Ruth.

<i>West Seattle</i> (steam ferry) Ship built in 1807

West Seattle was a side-wheel driven steam-powered ferry built in 1907.

<i>Issaquah</i> (steam ferry)

Issaquah was a steam ferry built in 1914 that operated on Lake Washington and in San Francisco Bay.

<i>Leschi</i> (steam ferry)

Leschi was a steam ferry that operated on Lake Washington from 1913 to 1950, and afterwards on Puget Sound until 1967. From 1969 to 1986 the vessel was a floating cannery in Alaska.

<i>C.C. Calkins</i>

C.C. Calkins was a small steamboat built in 1890 which served on Lake Washington.

<i>Concordia</i> (steamboat)

Concordia was a steamboat that ran on Puget Sound from 1930 to 1976. Although later converted to diesel power, Concordia was the last inland commercial steamboat ever built on either Puget Sound or the Columbia river.

<i>Atlanta</i> (1908 steamboat)

Atlanta was a steamboat built in 1908 at Houghton, Washington which served on Lake Washington and Puget Sound until 1938, when it was converted into a diesel-powered houseboat.

<i>Suquamish</i> (motor vessel)

Suquamish, built in 1914, was the first diesel-engined passenger vessel in the United States. Much later Suquamish was converted to a commercial fishing vessel and was registered as a Canadian vessel under the name Terry.

<i>Aquilo</i> (steam yacht)

Aquilo was a steam yacht which was built in Boston in 1901 for William Phelps Eno, a wealthy man who was the inventor of the stop sign. In 1910, Eno sold Aquilo and the yacht was brought to the west coast of North America, where it was operated principally in Puget Sound and coastal British Columbia. Aquilo had a long succession of wealthy owners. In 1966, the yacht caught fire and sank while en route from Seattle to Los Angeles.

<i>Acme</i> (steamboat)

The steamboat Acme operated on Lake Washington and also on the Sammamish Slough to Bothell, Washington from 1899 to 1910, when it was destroyed by fire.

<i>General Frisbie</i> (steamship) Steamship, built 1900

The steamship General Frisbie was a wooden two-deck passenger ship built in 1900, named after John B. Frisbie. She was designed for use as a ferry between Vallejo and San Francisco. The steamer was successful in that role and was the fastest ship on the route when she began service. Improved roads, bridges, and automobiles reduced demand for ferry service in the Bay Area, and newer ships were optimized for transporting cars, so General Frisbie was retired in the late 1920s.

SS <i>Roosevelt</i> (1905) American steamship

SS Roosevelt was an American steamship of the early 20th century. She was designed and constructed specifically for Robert Peary′s polar exploration expeditions, and she supported the 1908 expedition in which he claimed to have discovered the North Pole.

<i>Dawn</i> (1914 ship) Passenger ship

Dawn was a wooden passenger ferry on Lake Washington in the early part of the twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John L. Anderson (shipbuilder)</span>

Captain John Laurentius Anderson was a preeminent figure in Washington state maritime industries in the first half of the twentieth century, particularly ferry service, shipbuilding, and ship-based tourism. He ran the largest ferry fleet on Lake Washington for three decades. He ran a large ferry fleet in Puget Sound. He built more than a dozen vessels at his shipyards, including the first ocean-going ship ever built on Lake Washington.

References

  1. ↑ Newell, Gordon R., ed., H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, at 159, Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, WA 1966
  2. 1 2 3 "New Steamboat Which Plies To Exposition". Seattle Day Times. May 30, 1909.
  3. ↑ Merchant Vessels of the United States 1914 - 1915. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1915. p. 183.
  4. ↑ "Master Of Lake Began As Deckhand". Seattle Daily Times. October 25, 1914.
  5. ↑ "Steamboat Triton Hurries To Rescue". Seattle Daily Times. December 30, 1912.
  6. ↑ "Potlatch Visitors!". Seattle Daily Times. July 14, 1914.
  7. ↑ "Port Commission Assailed On Two Sides". Seattle Daily Times. November 4, 1915.
  8. ↑ "Spend Your Fourth..." Seattle Star. July 2, 1915.
  9. ↑ "Wuxtry! Wuxtry! All About Newsies' Picnic". Seattle Daily Times. July 27, 1910.
  10. 1 2 "Triton Is First Wreck In Lake". Seattle Daily Times. September 25, 1916.
  11. ↑ Eighth Annual Report of the Public Service Commission of Washington to the Governor. Olympia, Washington. 1918. p. 179.



This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.