The Concordia was a steamship that operated as a passenger and cargo ferry on Puget Sound from 1930 to 1976 . She was the last commercially used steam-powered inland passenger ship that was built on Puget Sound and Columbia River .
The stack which ran Concordia 1930 in Tacoma , Washington . The Concordia , also known as the Conkie due to its popularity , was one of four steamers built after 1920 on the Puget Sound and Columbia River. The others were named Virginia V , Sightseer , Vashona, and Arcadia . The ship was built for the "Vashon Navigation Company" to replace the larger ship Vashona . The company's business volume on the important route from Tacoma to Quartermaster Harbor had declined significantly and a ship as large as the Vashona was no longer needed and could no longer be operated economically. The Concordia was originally planned with a length of 65 feet (about 19.80 meters). Company President John Manson determined, however, that according to United States maritime regulations, shortening the ship to less than 65 feet, to exactly 62.50 feet, could save personnel and costs. These regulations would allow the ship to be operated with one less crew member. The stern area of the ship's hull was then changed to the final shortened design. This change gave the ship a cut, almost clipped impression. The Vashona was sold to the "Anderson Steamboat Company".
commitment
The Concordia was used on the "Tacoma-Quartermaster Harbor" line. One of the captains on the route was the well-known and popular Thomas W. "Billy" Phillips (1877-1949). In 1937 the ship was equipped with a 90 hp diesel engine instead of the steam engine. In 1942 the "Vashon Navigation Company" sold the Concordia to Joe Boies and Irving Frank, business people who operated the "Harbor Island Ferries". They used the Concordia to transport shipyard workers between Elliott Bay and central Seattle. Since 1958, the ship has been operated by the Horluck Transportation Company as part of their commuter and tourist fleet . It operated from its ports in Bremerton and Port Orchard, Washington .
Trivia
On August 2, 1936, the Concordia was chartered by the Tacoma Times newspaper for the annual picnic for its 300 young newspaper deliverers in Redondo Beach, Washington . This was one of the Tacoma Times' regular appreciative events for its newsboy.
Whereabouts
The Concordia was launched in 1976 at Lake Union ( Seattle ). The further whereabouts are unknown.
literature
Roland Carey: The Sound of Steamers . Alderbrook Publishing, Seattle WA 1965
Jean Cammon Findlay, Robin Paterson: Mosquito Fleet of South Puget Sound . Arcadia Publishing, 2008, ISBN 0-7385-5607-6 .
Mary S. Kline: Steamboat Virginia V . Documentary Book Publishers, Bellevue WA 1985, ISBN 0-935503-00-5 .
Gordon R. Newell (Ed.): HW McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest . Superior Publishing, Seattle WA 1966
Gordon R. Newell, Joe Williamson: Pacific Steamboats . Superior Publishing, 1958.
Tacoma Times , 8/3/1936, p. 14. Tacoma Public Library digital collections, Image series Series: T112-1 notes; Retrieved May 6, 2011
