Bonita (sternwheeler 1900)

Bonita at the opening of the Yamhill River lock and dam, September 24, 1900
History
Name:	Bonita (1900–1902); Metlako (1902–1924); B. H. Smith Jr. (1924–1931)
Route:	Willamette, Yamhill, Columbia, Cowlitz, Lewis and Lake rivers
Builder:	Johnston boatyard
Completed:	1900, at Portland, Oregon.
Out of service:	1931
Identification:	U.S. #3830
Fate:	Abandoned.
General characteristics
Class and type:	riverine passenger/freight
Tonnage:	198 gross; 122 net tons.
Length:	109 ft (33.2 m) measured over hull.
Beam:	24.4 ft 9 in (7.7 m) measured over hull.
Depth:	4.8 ft 0 in (1.46 m)
Installed power:	twin steam engines, horizontally mounted, single cylinder, cylinder bore 9 in (228.6 mm) and stroke of 4 ft (1.22 m).
Propulsion:	sternwheel
Capacity:	200 passengers; 125 tons of freight

Bonita was a steamboat which operated on the Willamette and Yamhill rivers. This boat was renamed Metlako in 1902, and operated under that name until 1924 on the Columbia River and its tributaries, the Cowlitz, Lewis and Lake rivers. In 1924, Metlako was renamed B. H. Smith Jr., operating under that name until 1931, when the steamer was abandoned. As Bonita, in September 1900, this vessel was the first steamer to pass through the Yamhill locks.

Bonita was built specifically to run from Portland to McMinnville, Oregon. According to one source, Bonita was built for Captain Hosford by the Johnston boatyard on the east side of Portland, Oregon. According to another (non-contemporaneous) source, Bonita was built by Robert Green for Bucham & Burns Construction.

Reportedly Bonita was built for the run from Portland to Lacamas Lake near Camas, Washington, but the boat’s owner, Captain Hosford, was considering placing the vessel on the route to Dayton, Oregon, along the Willamette and Yamhill rivers.

Bonita was 109 ft (33.2 m) measured over the hull. Measurements over the hull excluded the length of hull extensions, such as the projection of the main deck over the stern, called the “fantail”, to mount the sternwheel. The Bonita had a beam (width) of 24.4 ft 9 in (7.7 m), again measured over the hull and exclusive of projections along the top of the hull, called the guards. The vessel’s depth of hold was 4.8 ft 9 in (1.7 m).

A vessel’s overall size was measured in tons, which was a unit of volume and not of weight. Bonita was 198 gross tons and 122 net tons. Each steamer in commercial service at that time had an official steamboat registry number. For Bonita, the official merchant vessel registry number was 3830.