Virginia V Steamship

Description

The Steamer Virginia V is a National Historic Landmark and a treasure of Seattle’s maritime history. She is the last operational example of a Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet steamer and was once part of a large fleet of small passenger and freight carrying ships that linked the islands and ports of Puget Sound in Washington State in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her original route was between the cities of Tacoma and Seattle, along the West Pass between Vashon Island and the Kitsap Peninsula.

The Virginia V’s engine is one of two identical steam engines built by Heffernan Engine Works for the U.S. Government. One was accepted and installed in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Steamer Evan Thomas, and the other was sold in 1904 to the Lorenz Brothers for the Tyrus, later renamed Virginia IV.

After the Virginia V was launched, the brand new hull was towed to to the King Street Drydock in Seattle where on April 2, 1922, the engine, boiler and condenser were transferred from the Virginia IV to the Virginia V. In a disastrous turn of events, loose engine mount bolts allowed water to fill the hull of the Virginia IV and she sank. Six months later she was raised and sold to Canoe Pass Packing Company. They re-powered her with a diesel engine and used her as a cannery tender.

The ship was restored 1996-2002, with the final project completed winter 2005, and preserved by The Steamer Virginia V Foundation. She is docking at Union Lake in Washington State, behind Mohai Museum.

Now you can get this beautiful Steamer Virginia V for your home or office. Our master craftsmen handcraft these nicely detailed models from scratch using her photographs, drawings, and original plan. The model is built to scale with top quality wood such as teak, mahogany with hollow superstructure and hull. She is 100% handcrafted individually using plank-on-frame construction method and are similar to the building of the actual ship. Each model requires hundreds of hours to finish and must go through a demanding quality control process before leaving the workshop. This ship model is mounted on a solid wood base and ready to display.