Flyer (steamboat 1891)
Flyer
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Flyer |
| Operator: | Columbia River and Puget Sound Navigation Company |
| Route: | Puget Sound (Seattle-Tacoma, Seattle-Everett) USA |
| In service: | 1891 |
| Out of service: | 1929 |
| Fate: | burned for metal |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | inland steamship (express passenger) |
| Length: | 170 ft (52 m) |
| Beam: | 21 ft (6 m) |
| Depth: | 15.0 ft (5 m) depth of hold |
| Installed power: | steam engine, compound |
| Propulsion: | single propeller |
| Speed: | 18.5 miles/hr (sustained average speed over an entire route; maximum speed higher) |
| Notes: | Converted to oil fuel in 1906 |
Flyer was an American steamboat that served from 1891 to 1929 on Puget Sound. From 1918 until the end of her service, she was officially known as the Washington. The Flyer ran for millions of miles at high speed, more than any inland vessel in the world. This 1891 steamer Flyer should not be confused with the steamboat Flyer built on Lake Coeur d'Alene in 1905, although the Coeur d'Alene vessel was inspired both in design and name by the success of the Puget Sound ship.
Flyer was the first vessel ordered by the Columbia River and Puget Sound Navigation Company, a concern formed by Capt. U.B. Scott and others, which already controlled the fast sternwheeler Telephone on the Columbia River, and on Puget Sound, the then new and fast sternwheeler Bailey Gatzert as well as the express passenger boat Fleetwood.Flyer was built at the Johnson shipyard in Portland, Oregon of Douglas fir cut in Oregon and prepared for construction by prolonged storage in salt water. Unusually for an express passenger boat, Flyer included a dining room, which contributed to her great popularity.
Flyer was designed to be the fastest propeller-driven vessel in the Pacific Northwest, and was very fine-lined, that is, tall and narrow. Captain Scott was so proud of his new ship that he rode on her as she was launched into the Willamette River. This proved to be a mistake. Neither boilers nor engines had been installed in Flyer before launch, and without their weight deep in her hull to act as ballast, she simply flopped over in the water, and Captain Scott had to exit by climbing out a window. After that, another hull was built around her with the hope of making her a little less top–heavy, but this was imperfectly sealed, so water sloshed around in between the hulls for the rest of the vessel's operational life. Surprisingly, this did not affect the Flyer's speed, although she did acquire a permanent list to port, or at least the hint of a list. Once finally completed, the company sent Flyer to Puget Sound and brought Bailey Gatzert around to the Columbia River to run with the Telephone.
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