Cowichan (steamship)

Cowichan circa 1918, at a logging float landing.
History
Name:	Cowichan
Owner:	Union Steamship Co.
Route:	coastal British Columbia
Completed:	1908
Out of service:	27 December 1925
Identification:	Canada registry #126210
Fate:	Sank after collision
General characteristics
Class and type:	coastal steamship
Tonnage:	962 gross 520 registered tons
Length:	157 ft (48 m)
Beam:	32 ft (10 m)
Depth:	14 ft (4 m) depth of hold
Installed power:	steam engine
Speed:	11 knots (20 km/h)
Capacity:	225 passengers, 125 tons cargo.
Crew:	34

Cowichan was a steamship which was operated in British Columbia under the ownership of the Union Steamship Company. Cowichan sank in 1925 following a collision with another ship.

Cowichan was originally launched under the name Cariboo. “Cowichan” comes from the Halkomelem word Q(a)w-(a)can, which means “warm mountains”. This is believed to refer to hills at the head of the Cowichan River. The tribe of the First Nations called “Cowichan” lived on southeast Vancouver Island.

The popular name for the ship was The Cow.

Cowichan was designed specifically to serve the remote logging camps of coastal British Columbia. A larger vessel could not maneuver in the narrow inlets such as Minstrel Island, Wells Pass, and Kingcome Inlet. Two new design aspects of the ship were a larger wheelhouse and relocating the bridge further forward so that both the quartermaster and the navigator could see over the bow.

Cowichan was built in Troon, Scotland, in 1908 by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company. The Ailsa firm was chosen over Bow, McLachlen & Co. because Union Steamship Co. was then in litigation with Bow, McLachlen over repairs to another one of the company's ships. Dimensions of the ship were 157 feet (48 m) in length, beam 32 feet (9.8 m) and depth of hold 14 feet (4.3 m), 962 gross and 520 registered tons. Cargo capacity was 125 tons. Cowichin's ship's twin triple-expansion steam engines, built by MacColl & Co. and twin propellers drove the ship's speed was 11 knots (20 km/h). There were two boilers, manufactured by D. Rowan & Co., which were originally coal-fired.

First class accommodations consisted of 53 stateroom berths. There were 34 crewmembers. In 1914, the ship was licensed to carry 225 passengers. The ship's Canadian registry number was 126210.