The Steamship "Virginia V"

The Virginia V http://www.virginiav.org/ lies at the MOHI docks next to the Center of Wooden Boats. By Serendipity I Got a Private Tour of the vessel several weeks ago and just now find the time to include it on the Blog. 

"Construction of the Virginia V

In 1921 Anderson & Company of Maplewood, Washington, began construction on the Virginia V. The ship was built of local old-growth fir. She was launched March 9, 1922, and towed to downtown Seattle for the installation of her engine and steam plant. In Seattle the engine was removed from the Virginia IV and installed in the Virginia V. On June 11, 1922, the Virginia V made her maiden voyage from Elliott Bay in Seattle to Tacoma down the West Pass. She continued to make this voyage nearly every day until 1938."

This vessel continues to aun excursions in the Seattle Area.

It's primary run was from Seattle to Tacoma bringing passengers and freight both directions and docking where the current Ferries dock in Seattle

Steam power is very interesting and pretty efficient. 

Hard to tell from this photo but she is a Fan Tail, the stern narrows. 

This was my tour guide, part of the hired crew of the vessel and very knowledgeable

Takes a fine sailor to man this wheel

Primary communication to the engine room

Secondary communication to the engine room. 

No windless here

The deck cleats are on the interior of the first deck, lines pass through hawsers. 

Steering cables from the wheel house to the rudder

The top, first deck level of the engine. The Engine Master was responsible for adjusting the speed and the direction the shaft turned. He could pull a big lever and go from forward to reverse on the fly!

The repeater from the wheel house

The boiler, Diesel heated this and they could make it to Tacoma on just 40 gallons of diesel.

Keep an eye on those guages, don't want things to get to hot!

Part ofg the oiling system for all the moving parts, no crankcase, the rods, crank etc are all open and have to be hand oiled on the go. Takes one crew to constantly monitor and oil all the things that move. Would not want to be in the engine room down below since lot of that oil spatters about and it could get slippery. 

The crank, rods, pushrods etc. down below.

This is on board just for exhibit but it is a old time steam generator. 

I had a great tour of this vessel, and we both recently went aboard it at the Christmas Festival of Lights at Lake Union. The vessel takes just a few excursions each year and I hope we get to make the Seattle to Brainbridge Island trip this summer. It's on the calender anyway. Out of the many restored historic vessels still in the restoration process that are either moored year round or that visit the docks at Museum of History and Industry (MOHI), the Virginia V is fully restored to it's original beauty. Each of the "Last of it's kind vessels moored at MOHI each have their own non-profit foundation raising funds and recruiting volunteers for the restoration projects. It is a unique opportunity for those who have the interest to maintain these historic vessels and preserve them for generations to come. The great part of this PNW community is sharing the experience with anyone who wants to participate no matter what their age is.
If you ever plan on a visit to the area it might be a good idea to check the websites of these vessels to view their calender and see if there are any events of interest during your time here. For sure I strongly suggest at least walking around the dock and visit the Center for Wooden boats at the very least.