Goliah (steam tug 1849)

Goliah
History
Name:	Goliah
Route:	Puget Sound
In service:	1849
Out of service:	1894
Fate:	Scrapped 1899, hull burned for metal
General characteristics
Tonnage:	235.86-gross tons
Length:	154 ft (46.9 m) over hull, 51 ft (16 m)
Beam:	30 ft (9.1 m) over hull, 51 ft (16 m)
Depth:	9.75 ft (3.0 m) depth of hold
Installed power:	Walking beam marine steam engine, single cylinder 50 inch diameter with 8 ft (2.4 m) stroke, generating 250 hp (190 kW).
Propulsion:	sidewheels
Speed:	13 kn (24 km/h) maximum

The steamer Goliah (sometimes called Defender) was the second tug boat ever built in the United States. The long service life of this vessel caused it to become known as the “everlasting” Goliah. This vessel was readily recognizable by its large size and sidewheels. It should not be confused with a number of other vessels named either Goliah or Goliath which were also operating as tugs. This vessel was also sometimes known as the Defender.

Goliah was built in New York City. William H. Webb built the wooden hull and T.F. Secor built the engine. The original purpose for Goliah was to tow sailing vessels in and out of New York Harbor. Previous steamers, which had not been purpose-built for the task, had been underpowered and many ships had been lost as a result.

On completion Webb sold the vessel to parties who intended to enter it into the Sacramento River trade, then booming because of the California Gold Rush. The new owners ran into financial difficulties, and the Goliah was seized by marshals acting on behalf of their creditors. Regardless of this, on April 1, 1850, Goliah's owners took the vessel out of the harbor, quite illegally, and without any coal. They then set out for California, which in that time required a voyage around Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America.

Goliah managed to reach St. Thomas (then not U.S. Territory, but rather part of the Danish West Indies, where fuel and provisions were secured. Goliah arrived in San Francisco on January 1, 1851. On arrival, the vessel was lengthened and ran as a passenger boat on the Sacramento under the name of Defender. During this time, Goliah was engaged in fierce competition with the New World, another steamer brought around from the East Coast in defiance of creditors. At one point, this competition produced gunfire between the passengers and crews of the two steamboats when Goliah, or so it is alleged, attempted to ram and sink the New World.

Goliah was soon bought off by the California Steam Navigation Company, which was building a monopoly on Sacramento river shipping, and as a result was then placed on the ocean routes. Capt. George Flavel (1823–1893) ran the vessel. up north. Goliah was later run off the coast of California under the command of Capt. Robert Haley. In the spring of 1854, Goliah rescued the passengers of the steamship Yankee Blade which had wrecked off Point Concepcion.

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Wikipedia