|
|
|
Yukon Rose
Yukon River Work Boat
Roster of Yukon/Alaska Sternwheelers
Northern Ships and Shipping
Please note that, at present, this is merely an accumulation of data, part of a database of material on all Yukon-Alaska steamboats compiled by by Murray Lundberg. Additions, corrections or comments are always welcome - just drop Murray a note.
- Canadian Shipping Registry #116330
- propeller; 60.8 feet long, with 12.3 foot beam. Gross 32 tons.
- 1929, built by Askew Boat Works in Vancouver, sailed to Skagway by Captain J. McLeod. A temporary track was laid down to the tide line, and she was then loaded onto a special rail car cradle that straddled 3 cars, and taken to Whitehorse. Arrived in Whitehorse on July 2.
- operated by Taylor & Drury to service their trading posts. Replaced Thistle, which was lost on Lake Laberge in 1928.
- ca. 1942, chartered to the U.S. Army by Taylor & Drury. Some locals say that at Carcross she was more of an officer's party boat than a work boat.
- 1948, sold to the British Yukon Navigation Co. (BYN) to haul materials for the Tagish, M'Clintock and Yukon River bridges.
- until 1951, pushed the barge Tagish from Whitehorse to Minto and Eagle.
- often the first BYN boat out in the spring; used to lay the cables at Five Fingers for the larger boats.
- June 20, 1952: "Steamer Casca Sails With 90 Tourists
The Steamer Casca, first steamer out of Whitehorse this spring, sailed Thursday evening with 90 tourists bound for Dawson.
'The latest sailing in history' was still a touch and go problem at the first of the week. Low water in the Yukon River due to cold overhead weather which delayed snow melting on the mountains.
Rain and warm weather the past three days have, however, brought the water down and the river is slowly rising.
A severe shortage of food in Dawson, prompted the steamship company to dispatch the Launch 'Yukon Rose' to that city with a barge of essential foods and drugs." (Whitehorse Star)
- it was rumoured to have been bought by an Alaskan, and to have worked in the Fairbanks area, but those stories are not true.
- BYN sold her to Ray Chaykowski of Whitehorse, who later sold her to Ken Garvice of Carmacks.
- bought by Rudy and Yvonne Burian, who took her to Stewart Island. Rudy used her for a couple of years and intended to rebuild her, but that never happened, and she was put into storage on Stewart Island.
- 1977, sold to Stan Caples of Dawson. He spent that Fall working on her on Stewart Island, then floated/towed her to Dawson in the Spring of 1978. That fall she was put into storage on a lot on 3rd Avenue.
- early 1980s, bought by a group of Dawsonites (Murray Matchett, Kevin Hewer and Ron McReady); in 1995, she was still sitting on a lot in Dawson (on Third Ave., south of Duke).
- April 2001, sold to Marc Johnston of Dawson, who owned another historic work boat, Loon. He immediately began rebuilding her and had planned to launch her on June 14th, 2003, using her to run tours. A Web site was set up at yukonrose.com.
- in 2003, Marc Johnston won a Yukon Heritage Award for his work: "Marc Johnston has a special place in his heart for boats and his restoration and rehabilitation of the historic Yukon Rose has been an enormous labour of love. The Yukon Rose was brought into the Yukon by Charlie Taylor in 1929 to replace Taylor and Drury's Thistle which sank the year before in Lake Laberge. "The Rose" travelled the territory's lakes and rivers for fifty years. It served in the waters around Carcross, took goods up the Pelly River to Ross River and carried freight and passengers up the Stewart River to Mayo. Ownership changed to the British Yukon Navigation Company and Rudy Burian before it was retired behind Stewart Island. It was purchased by a Dawson City consortium and sat dry-docked in town for many years before Marc saw it in 1988 and purchased it in 2000. He looked across North America for parts, finding an engine in Florida and replacing all 160 ribs with white oak from Missouri. The ribs were shaped in a steam box built by Marc and installed by a crew that included local carpenter Andrew Robinson who just happened to have shipwright training in Nova Scotia. Marc has big plans for his Yukon Rose and the heritage community welcomes the return of this historic boat to Yukon waters."
- July 6, 2012, the Yukon News published an article by Michael Gates about Marc Johnston's continuing work on Yukon Rose - see One man's effort to keep the past afloat.
Yukoner and Yukon Rose on the ways at Whitehorse, probably early 1950s.
The photos of Yukon Rose below were shot in Dawson City by Murray Lundberg. Click on each to greatly enlarge it.
Sept 1995
|
June 2003
|
June 2003
|
November 6, 2004
|
July 26, 2005
|
July 26, 2005
|
July 14, 2006
|
July 11, 2012
|
|
|
