Isabella McCormack (sometimes known as Isabel, Isabell or Isabelle) was a sternwheel steamboat that operated in British Columbia on the Columbia River from 1908 to 1910.
_entering_Windermere_Lake,_BC_ca_1912_BCA_A-01662.JPG) Isabella McCormack entering Windermere Lake, c. 1909
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada | |
| Name | Isabella McCormack, later known as Isabel[1] (CAN #122399[2]) or Isabelle |
| Owner | Columbia River Lumber Company |
| Port of registry | Golden, BC |
| Route | Inland British Columbia on the Columbia River in the Columbia Valley |
| Builder | Alexander Blakely |
| Launched | 1908 at Golden, BC |
| Out of service | 1910 |
| Fate | Converted to floating houseboat and hotel |
| Status | Unknown after 1914 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | inland passenger/freighter |
| Tonnage | 178 gross tons; 112 registered tons |
| Length | 94.9 ft (29 m) |
| Beam | 18.8 ft (6 m) |
| Depth | 3.5 ft (1 m) depth of hold |
| Installed power | Twin steam engines, horizontally mounted, 7" bore by 42" stroke, 3 nominal horsepower, manufactured 1896 by Albion Iron Works |
| Propulsion | sternwheel |
| Notes | Engines installed in steamer Klahowya |
Design and construction
editIsabella McCormack was built at Golden, BC by Alexander Blakely for the Columbia River Lumber Company, and was intended to be a replacement for Ptarmigan.[2][3]
Operations
editIsabelle McCormack was placed on the Columbia River route that began at Golden and ran south, at least during high water, to Columbia Lake, the ultimate source of the Columbia River. While the vessel was the fastest steamboat on the route, she was not a success.[3]
Conversion to houseboat
edit
In 1910 Isabella McCormack was converted into a floating houseboat and hotel. Her engines were removed and installed in a new sternwheeler, 'Klahowya. The vessel remained in houseboat use until 1914.[3]
Notes
edit- ^ McCurdy, H.W., ed., H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, at 149, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1966
- ^ a b Affleck, Edward L., A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska, at 53, Alexander Nicholls Press, Vancouver, BC 2000 ISBN 0-920034-08-X
- ^ a b c Downs, Art, Paddlewheels on the Frontier -- The Story of British Columbia and Yukon Sternwheel Steamers, at 108 and 112, Superior Publishing, Seattle WA 1972
Further reading
edit
- Faber, Jim, Steamer's Wake -- Voyaging down the old marine highways of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River, Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985 ISBN 0-9615811-0-7
- Timmen, Fritz, Blow for the Landing, 75-78, 134, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, ID 1972 ISBN 0-87004-221-1