The Bailey Gatzert was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Columbia River and Puget Sound, in Washington state, US, from the 1890s to the 1920s. This vessel was considered one of the finest of its time. It was named after Bailey Gatzert, an early businessman and mayor of Seattle, who was one of the closest friends and business associates of John Leary – the person who financed the ship.
Bailey Gatzert probably carried more passengers than any other Columbia River steamer. It was considered to be one of the most beautiful river boats, mainly because its upper deck ran all the way out to the bow.
Ownership and cost Bailey Gatzert was built for John Leary (1837–1905). The steamer was reported to have cost $100,000 to construct.
According to another report, the Bailey Gatzert was built for the Seattle Steam Navigation & Transportation Company, which had been incorporated in Seattle on May 31, 1890, with a capital stock of $500,000, by John Leary, Jacob Furth, Edward Newfleder, Wm.R. Ballard, and Harry K. Struve (1866–1924).
Construction Bailey Gatzert was built in the shipyard of John J. Holland (1843–1893) at Ballard, Washington. The machinery for the steamer was manufactured by the James Rees Iron and Machine Works, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Holland was an experienced shipbuilder who had previously constructed the prominent steamers Wide West and R.R. Thompson.
The machinery was scheduled to be delivered to the Bailey Gatzert by July 15, 1890, but it did not arrive on time from the east. As of July 20, the Rees firm was reported to be working on the machinery "night and day." Work on the cabin structure of the steamer almost done by July 20, with the pilot house next to be built.
Work was still ongoing on August 11, 1890, when a carload of machinery, including the sternwheel shaft, cylinders, donkey-pumps, and part of the smokestack arrived over the Northern Pacific Railway. Work was expected to be finished by September 15, 1890. However, the boilers did not arrive at Ballard until October 4, after a five-week delay.
Engineering and dimensions Bailey Gatzert was driven by two twin horizontally mounted single-cylinder poppet valve steam engines, each with a 22-inch interior bore diameter and an 84-inch stroke on the piston rod. These engines could drive the steamer at a speed of over 20 miles per hour. The engines generated 1,300 horsepower, enough it was said at the time of its launch, to make Bailey Gatzert the fastest steamer on Puget Sound. According to an official source, the engines generated 1,150 nominal horsepower and 1,300 indicated horsepower. The sternwheel had 17 "buckets" (paddles), each of which was 18 feet long.
The boiler was a steel locomotive type, also manufactured by James Rees & Sons. The total heating surface was 3800 square feet. The firebox had a grate surface of 49 square feet. The underwater portion of the steamer's hull was coated with a copper-based bottom paint. As built no sleeping accommodations were installed, limiting the vessel to day trips. The vessel was originally a wood burner, and could consume up to three cords of wood an hour.
According to a newspaper report, Bailey Gatzert was 208 feet long overall, with a length of 180 feet measured over the keel. The beam (width) of the vessel was 32 feet. The official dimensions of the steamer as built were: 177.3 feet length over the hull, exclusive of the extension of the main deck, called the fantail, over the stern, on which the sternwheel was mounted, 32.3 foot beam (width) and 8:0 foot depth of hold. The official merchant vessel registry number was 3488.
Launch and trial trip
Bailey Gatzert was launched on Saturday, November 22, 1890, at 1:00 p.m. before 1,500 spectators. The launch was originally scheduled to occur at noon, but was delayed for an hour to allow the tide to come in.
The steamer had been built on a cradle sideways to the water's edge 100 yards away. With the ways 177 feet long to accommodate the steamer's hull, this was the longest sideways launching ever attempted on the Pacific Coast of the United States.
Four hundred people were on board as the boat slid down into the water after the builder, Capt. J.J. Holland gave the word and the workman knocked away the restraining blocks. As the steamer entered the water, Captain Holland's young son, Willie Holland, broke a bottle of champagne over its bow.
Bailey Gatzert had steam up before the launch and was operational when it entered the water. Capt. George Hill was in the pilot house and he ordered the engines to be started, and the vessel began its first trip, out towards the mouth of Salmon Bay and then south to Seattle. On board at the time were several prominent steamboat men, captains James W. Troupe, J.N. McAlpine, and Captain Clancy of the Union Pacific steamboat division. Some final work needed to be done after the launch, including fitting details and installation of the dynamo for the electric lights.
Operations
On August 22, 1890, it was reported that Captain George Hill, previously of the steamer Henry Bailey, had accepted the position of captain of Bailey Gatzert, then still under construction.
Starting Saturday, December 13, 1890, Bailey Gatzert was running twice daily on the Seattle-Tacoma route, departing from Baker's Wharf, at the foot of Seneca street, at 8:00 a.m., and 3:00 p.m., and, on the return, departing Tacoma at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Bailey Gatzert was damaged while docked in a windstorm that struck Seattle on December 25, 1890.
On January 19, 1891, Bailey Gatzert took an excursion of nearly 300 people to Olympia, Washington, making what was reported to have been the shortest running time then on record between the two cities, about three hours and 25 minutes. The steamer left Seattle at 9:12 a.m., and ran south along the west side of Vashon Island, through Colvos Passage, then known as the "West Passage". During this trip, the vessel stopped for about 15 minutes off Milton Point to repair the steam steering mechanism.
On January 28, 1891, Bailey Gatzert was taken off the Seattle-Tacoma run because the business on the route was insufficient to make the steamer profitable. The Gatzert had lost about $2,000 in the time it had been operating on the run. It was hoped that the steamer could be returned to the Seattle-Tacoma route sometime in April. Bailey Gatzert could not be used on an overnight or other long route because it had no sleeping accommodations.
Captains of the Gatzert in its first years on Puget Sound were Harry Struve, Henry Carter (1858–1930), John Jordison (b.1863), and others.
New owners Bailey Gatzert made only a few runs for its original owners before being sold to the Columbia River and Puget Sound Navigation Company (CR&PSN), which was also called the White Collar Line.
In early February 1891, the articles of incorporation of CR&PSN had been filed in Portland, Oregon. The capital stock was $500,000, and the incorporators were John Leary, of Seattle, Capt. Uriah Bonser "U.B." Scott (1827–1913) and Lamar Boudinot "L.B." Seeley (1851–1932), both of Portland, and Ernest Whitcomb Crichton (1850–1913), of Oswego, Oregon U.B. Scott was the president, John Leary, vice-president, L.B. Seeley, second vice-president, E.W. Crichton (or Creighton), secretary-treasurer. E.A. Seeley and Capt. Z.J. Hatch were directors, but Hatch's interest was soon bought out by the other principals in the firm. S.H. Brown was another founder of the company.
The new company was going to operate steamboats on Puget Sound and on the Columbia River, specifically Flyer, Bailey Gatzert, and Antelope.
By February 21, 1891, Bailey Gatzert was back on a route from Seattle to Tacoma and Olympia, in place of the slower propeller steamer Fleetwood, which was also owned by U.B. Scott. Bailey Gatzert was much faster than Fleetwood, and was scheduled to make the Seattle-Tacoma run in 1 hour 45 minutes.
Racing against Greyhound On April 21, 1891, Bailey Gatzert raced the sternwheeler Greyhound from Tacoma to Seattle and back. The distance on this route was 28 miles.
Greyhound was then a new vessel, built in 1890, with low cabin structure and a large stern-wheel, so much so that the Hound, as the steamer was called, was said to be "all wheel and whistle." On the morning of April 21, 1891, both the Gatzert and the Hound were at the dock in Tacoma, when about 10:30 a.m. rumors began to spread that there would be a race between the two vessels on the route back to Seattle. Hundreds of people crowded onto the docks to witness the event.
At 10:30 a.m. Greyhound, under Captain G.H. Parker, cast off lines and moved out into the water, waiting for the Gatzert, which at the same time blew the whistle indicating departure. However, just at that time a tiller block, part of the steering gear, broke on Gatzert, which required 45 minutes to fix. The Greyhound steamed around, waiting for the Gatzert.
Finally, with the steering gear repaired, Captain Z.J. Hatch on Gatzert gave the order to go ahead to the engine room, and both steamers left Tacoma at high speed, blowing huge amounts of black smoke from their stacks, with Gatzert in the lead. By the time they reached the turning point in the channel at Point Robinson, Bailey Gatzert was well ahead of Greyhound, and the race seemed over. Greyhound had used much of its freshwater supply in waiting for the Gatzert at Tacoma, and by the time Point Robinson was reached, Greyhound'''s chief engineer Claude Trump had to use salt water in the boilers, which further reduced Greyhound's steam pressure and speed.
By the time the Greyhound reached Alki Point, Bailey Gatzert was well ahead, but with more fuel feed into the firebox, Greyhound was able to close the gap, and by Duwamish Head, Greyhound was only 500 yards behind the Gatzert. At about this time, the steamers were recognized from the docks in Seattle, causing an excited ground to gather. During the remaining three miles across Elliott Bay, Greyhound continued to gain, but Bailey Gatzert was still first into the dock. However, on the return trip to Tacoma, where the steamers also raced, Greyhound beat the Gatzert by one and one-half minutes.
Loss of a trophy The Union Pacific at that time had recently completed the steamer T.J. Potter, which was operating on Puget Sound. When Captain Troup, who was the manager of the Union Pacific's maritime division, noticed one day that John Leary and J.J. Holland, to honor Bailey Gatzerts speedy time between Tacoma and Seattle, were installing a silver-plated statue of a greyhound in the Gatzerts pilot house. Troup bet Leary and Holland that if T.J. Potter could best the Gatzert in a race, that they would turn over the greyhound trophy to the Potter.
A few days later, after Troup had returned to Portland, he received a telegram from Archie Pease, captain of the Potter, who had been informed of the wager: "Passed the Gatzert this morning and led her into Seattle. Time 1:22½" Troup immediately replied: "Get the dog." Later that day, Pease sent a telegram back to Troup: "Got the dog. It now adorns the pilot house of the T.J. Potter."
Transfer to the Columbia River
In 1892, Bailey Gatzert was transferred, under Capt. Gill Parker, to the Columbia River. Once on the Columbia, the steamer was used in excursions and as a spare boat until 1895, when it was extensively overhauled and then placed on the Portland-Astoria route. Captains in the early years on the Columbia were U.B. Scott, Frank B. Turner, Thomas Crang, and W.E. Larkins.
On October 14, 1892, Bailey Gatzert was at Neah Bay, presumably en route to the Columbia river.
In June 1893 it was reported that Bailey Gatzert would be put on the run from Portland to Clatsop Beach in the coming summer.
On July 1, 1893, Bailey Gatzert was reported to be running in the excursion business in the Columbia River Gorge.
Proposed transfer to San Francisco