Hyak (1909 steamboat)

Hyak was a wooden-hulled steamship that operated on Puget Sound from 1909 to 1941. This vessel should not be confused with the sternwheeler Hyak which ran on the extreme upper reach of the Columbia River at about the same time. The name means "swift" or "fast" in the Chinook Jargon.

Hyak
History
United States
NameHyak
RoutePuget Sound
Completed1909, Portland, Oregon
Out of service1941
FateAbandoned.
General characteristics
Tonnage195[1]
Length134 ft (40.8 m)
Installed powertriple expansion steam engine[1]
Propulsionpropeller

Career

Hyak was built at Portland, Oregon in 1909 at the shipyard of Joseph Supple for the Kitsap County Transportation Company.[1][2] The vessel was 134 feet (40.8 m), rated at 195 tons, and was equipped with a triple expansion steam engine with cylinders 12, 18 and 32 inches in diameter with an 18-inch bore stroke on all cylinders.[1] The engine worked on steam produced at 225 pounds of pressure, and generated 750 horsepower.[1] Hyak was brought up from the Columbia River around the Olympic Peninsula by Capt. J.J. Reynolds. It was reported that during this trip the vessel was at times able to reach a speed of 20 miles per hour.[1]

Hyak was placed on routes running from Seattle to Bainbridge Island and Poulsbo, serving Port Madison, Suquamish, Seabold, Keyport, Lemola, Scandia, and Pearson.[1] The vessel was also used for excursions. Like many other Puget Sound steamers, Hyak used Pier 3 (now Pier 54) as its Seattle terminal.[3] Hyak was one of the faster vessels on Puget Sound and was a favorite among passengers.[3]

Hyak was one of the last of the wooden-hulled steamships of Puget Sound to operate in regular commercial service. From 1935 to 1938 Hyak was owned by the Puget Sound Navigation Company, then the dominant steamboat and ferry company on Puget Sound.[4] In 1941, Hyak was abandoned on a mudflat on the Duwamish River.[2][3]

Notes
  1. Newell, ed. H.W. McCurdy Marine History, at 159 and 466.
  2. Newell, Ships of the Inland Sea, at 190 and 209.
  3. Faber, Steamer's Wake, at 131, 135, 144, 165.
  4. Kline, Mary S., and Bayless, G.A., Ferryboats -- A Legend on Puget Sound, Bayless Books, Seattle, WA 1983 ISBN 0-914515-00-4, at page 350.

References
  • Faber, Jim, Steamer's Wake – Voyaging Down the Old Marine Highways of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River, Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985 ISBN 0-9615811-0-7
  • Kline, Mary S., and Bayless, G.A., Ferryboats -- A Legend on Puget Sound, Bayless Books, Seattle, WA 1983 ISBN 0-914515-00-4
  • Newell, Gordon, Ships of the Inland Sea, Binford and Mort, Portland, OR (2nd Ed. 1960)
  • Newell, Gordon, ed. H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, Superior Publishing Co. Seattle, 1966.
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