Rabboni (steam tug)
Encyclopedia
Rabboni was a steam tug that operated on the west coast of the United States starting in 1865.
, and launched on April 9, 1865. The tug was brought north to the mouth of the Columbia river
, arriving in July 1865, and reaching Portland, Oregon
on July 29, 1865. The vessel was commanded by Capt. Paul Corno, who was also its main owner. En route Rabboni had stopped at Coos Bay
and procured a three-month supply of coal, and picked up 18,000 board feet of lumber.
On August 10, 1865, Rabboni towed in the bark Almatia, which became the first vessel towed across the Columbia bar by a regular tug. Rabboni was considered a good tug for the time, but ran into opposition at the Columbia from the bar pilots and prejudice among sailing ship owners against steam craft of any kind. In March, 1866 Rabboni proving unable to win sufficient business, was returned to San Francisco.
After many years out of the area, Rabboni was returned to the Pacific Northwest, this time to the Straits of Juan de Fuca
, in an effort to pick up tow work from inbound ships headed for ports in Puget Sound
. This placed Rabboni in opposition to the powerful Puget Sound Tug Company, and again Rabboni proved unable to compete. There was thereafter no steam tug on the Columbia river bar until 1869.
In 1890, Rabboni came under the ownership of F.B. Cornwall. By 1898 Rabboni had been laid up for some time at the Stetson and Post lumber mill in Seattle. The Klondike gold rush
created a great demand for shipping, which resulted, as one historian as written, in “large number of old vessels pulled off the mudflats and out of backwater sloughs from Oakland Creek to British Columbia." Rabboni was one of these vessels, and was refitted for tow work in Alaska, but proved to be unsuccessful.
Career
Rabboni was built in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, and launched on April 9, 1865. The tug was brought north to the mouth of the Columbia river
Columbia Bar
The Columbia Bar is a system of bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the US states of Oregon and Washington. The bar is about wide and long....
, arriving in July 1865, and reaching Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
on July 29, 1865. The vessel was commanded by Capt. Paul Corno, who was also its main owner. En route Rabboni had stopped at Coos Bay
Coos Bay
Coos Bay is an S-shaped inlet where the Coos River enters the Pacific Ocean, approximately 10 miles long and two miles wide, on the Pacific Ocean coast of southwestern Oregon in the United States. The estuary is situated south of the Salmon River. The city of Coos Bay, once named Marshfield, was...
and procured a three-month supply of coal, and picked up 18,000 board feet of lumber.
On August 10, 1865, Rabboni towed in the bark Almatia, which became the first vessel towed across the Columbia bar by a regular tug. Rabboni was considered a good tug for the time, but ran into opposition at the Columbia from the bar pilots and prejudice among sailing ship owners against steam craft of any kind. In March, 1866 Rabboni proving unable to win sufficient business, was returned to San Francisco.
After many years out of the area, Rabboni was returned to the Pacific Northwest, this time to the Straits of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...
, in an effort to pick up tow work from inbound ships headed for ports in Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
. This placed Rabboni in opposition to the powerful Puget Sound Tug Company, and again Rabboni proved unable to compete. There was thereafter no steam tug on the Columbia river bar until 1869.
In 1890, Rabboni came under the ownership of F.B. Cornwall. By 1898 Rabboni had been laid up for some time at the Stetson and Post lumber mill in Seattle. The Klondike gold rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
created a great demand for shipping, which resulted, as one historian as written, in “large number of old vessels pulled off the mudflats and out of backwater sloughs from Oakland Creek to British Columbia." Rabboni was one of these vessels, and was refitted for tow work in Alaska, but proved to be unsuccessful.