_{A postcard of the (at the time) premiere ferry to Bremerton: the S.S. Seattle. Author’s collection, colorized.}

BUILT/REBUILT: 1909/24 Portland, OR/Seattle, WA

PREVIOUS/LATER NAMES: a. H.B Kennedy, b. Seattle

OFFICIAL NUMBER: 206030

L/B/D: 185 x 44 x 11 GROSS/NET TONS: 504/343 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: 1000/47

PROPULSION: one four-cylinder triple-expansion engine, 2000 HP SPEED: 20 knots

NAME TRANSLATION: for the city of the same name (see Sealth)

FINAL DISPOSITION: Stripped to hull, 1939; sold to Win-Ra Fisheries, 1946 for use as cannery; badly damaged by fire and beached in Ugashik, AK, 1968; scrapping was to commence Summer 2020

HISTORY

“The trend toward larger inland passenger steamers of steel construction and high speed for service on the principal Puget Sound routes was furthered in 1909 by the arrival of the handsome two-funnel propeller steamer H. B. Kennedy, built at Portland by the Willamette Iron & Steel Co. for the Navy Yard route of H. B. Kennedy and the Puget Sound Navigation Co. Of 499 tons, with dimensions of 179.2 x 28.1 x 11.3, the Kennedy was powered by a four-cylinder triple-expansion engine with steam at 350 pounds working pressure and developing 2,000 horsepower.

Many hot disputes arose among marine observers regarding the speed of the new steamer following her arrival early in the year, and in September she was raced over the measured mile at the request of Moran & Co., who were already interested in the possible construction of another express steamer of similar speed for the Seattle-Tacoma route (these plans eventually culminating in the famous steamer Tacoma of 1913). The test was made off Vashon Island with President Joshua Green and Manager Frank Burns of the Puget Sound Navigation Co., J. V. Paterson, president and general manager of the Moran Co., and a number of other prominent guests aboard.  It was understood that under full power she achieved the excellent speed of about 21 miles an hour.

Upon her arrival on the Sound the H. B. Kennedy was the victim of a number of mechanical breakdowns, culminated late in the year by the breaking of her shaft, which put her on the rocks, damaging her plates and putting her machinery out of order. In December she was withdrawn from service and delivered to the Moran yard for an extensive overhaul, after which she resumed her service with excellent results. Capt. William E. Mitchell commanded the steamer the first eight years of her operation, during which she logged 408,000 miles.”–Gordon Newell, “Maritime Events of 1909,” H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest., p. 159.

The “Navy Yard Route”—as the Seattle-Bremerton route was called—while operated by PSN, was considered separate from other PSN service. Even the livery of the vessels on the route was different, with the stacks of the Navy Yard Route vessels being painted yellow until the steamers were converted to ferries in the early 1920’s.

Built in 1909, the H.B. Kennedy became the premiere vessel on the run. She was a comfortable, luxuriously fitted out vessel, with carved wood paneling and overstuffed seats.  She was also fast, making the run in under 45 minutes.

For the next decade she hauled passengers to and from Bremerton, but as ferries took over the Navy Yard Route, she was shifted to the Seattle-Tacoma run to take over for the Indianapolis. It was at this time she was renamed Seattle.

Commuters were demanding more service from auto ferries and the City of Bremerton wasn’t up to meet the demand. Traffic was falling on the Seattle-Tacoma run as roads became better, so PSN withdrew the Seattle from the run and totally rebuilt the steamer. Her lower decks cleared out, the steamer was widened to carry cars. Her cabin was expanded but retained all the fittings and luxury from her steamer days, with the addition of ladies’ lounge and smoking room.  The steam plant was left in place, and surprisingly her speed wasn’t altered at all.

Paired with Chippewa, the Seattle went back to work on the Seattle-Bremerton route where the ferry remained very popular with commuters. As diesel began to displace steam on Puget Sound, the Seattle’s days were numbered. The Kalakala appeared in 1935, displacing the Seattle to the Seattle-Indianola-Suquamish run—much to the consternation of Bremerton commuters. The Kalakala could not maintain the Seattle’s schedule, and furthermore rattled and shook so much that coffee could only be sold by the half cup. Many complained, demanding the Seattle back, but eventually the Kalakala worked into a routine with the Chippewa, and only a few years later two more ferries were added to the route.

The arrival of the more efficient Wood Diesels spelled the end of the old steamer.  The Seattle was withdrawn from service and was converted to a barge in 1939.

By 1946 she had been sold to the Win-Ra Fisheries company, who built some kind of superstructure onto the barge and turned her into a floating cannery.  She was eventually taken to Ugashik, Alaska, where she operated until 1968 when she is listed as having been destroyed by fire.  However, that wasn’t the end of the former ferry.  She later broke loose from her moorings and drifted downstream becoming stuck on the beach—where she remains to this day. At 111 years of age, the hull of the former ferry Seattle is clearly visible on Google Earth, and in this photo taken from across the river.  The remains of the hulk, on the beach since 1968, were planned for removal in summer of 2020, but with the COVID pandemic it isn’t known at this time if the plan for removal was carried out.