This site is a place to share my interest in the history of wooden boatbuilding on the BC coast. It began as part of the Royal BC Museum's Living Landscapes project, Keeping the Coast Afloat: Wooden Boatbuilding on the North Coast.

A move to Vancouver expanded my horizons to explore boatbuilding in the south.

This is an ongoing project. If you can add information about any boats or boatbuilders, please contact me at boats[at]halfmoon.ca

My Wooden Boats pictures on Flickr

 

Wooden Boats Built on the North Coast (and beyond)

Alphabetical Index. Look up boats by name:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

This growing database focusses on wooden boats built on the north and central coast of BC, primarily on the mainland coast and nearby islands around Prince Rupert and the Skeena River. However, to help get an understanding of wooden boatbuilding on the whole of the north and central coasts, wooden boats built north of Campbell River have also been included. In addition, boats built in the south, including well-known north coast boats and others which capture my interest have been added.

My site for stories and pictures of wooden boats of BC is here.

Links

The Nauticapedia is a comprenhensive website and database of maritime heritage in BC.

BC Forest Service boats website

Vessel Registry Query System Current vessel registration information on line.

 

Sources

Most vessels in this database are those which have been officially registered. Many fishing boats which weren't registered (as opposed to licensed) haven't been documented.

List of Ships

Most information comes from the List of Ships, which used to be published yearly, listing all the vessels that were officially registered. I've collected data from a variety of years to give snapshots of how boat ownership and location changed over time. Thus, where an entry says "1992 owner," it indicates the data in the 1992 List of Ships.

Other Sources

Prince Rupert Daily News, which began publishing in 1910, is the main source for the early history of boatbuilding on the North Coast.
Western Fisheries, the industry trade journal, is also a major source for info on boatbuilding and fish boat operations.

Legacy in Wood by Ryan Wahl (Harbour 2008) is wealth of information on the Wahl family of boatbuilders, who built more than 1000 boats on the North Coast.