Ship
Object
2003.9.1
Wooden river vessel, MS Neecheah, built for the American Yukon Navigation Co at Whitehorse and registered in Eagle, Ak. in 1920. See blue 'Neecheah' binder in research collection.
Neecheah specs, 1923
Deck: 1; Stern: Bevel; Build: Carvel; Head: Bevel; Framework: Wood; Bulkheads: Two; Length: 78.5; Breadth: 17.2; Depth: 3.1; Round of Beam: .04; Engineroom: 17.75; Engines: 2, 1920, 6 5/34 cylinder. 7 stroke, Wisonsin Motor Co., Milwaukee, WS. Gross tonnage: 93.39, Reg. tonnage: 63.51.
Wooden river vessel, ‘gas screw’ boat Kestrel (later Neecheah) was built for the American Yukon Navigation Co. (US division of WP&YR) at Whitehorse and registered in Eagle, AK. in 1920. Kestrel left Whitehorse June 28, 1920 for Holy Cross, AK. The boat carried mail, mostly on the Kantishna River, as well as towing a barge loaded with ore. In her first season, running river ice forced her to beach at Circle City, AK. for the winter. The crew had to travel by dogsled to Fairbanks, then overland to the coast.
In 1921, Kestrel was transferred to BYN Co., renamed Neecheah and registered as a CDN boat, mainly engaged in river improvement work on the Stewart, as well as carrying freight and passengers between Stewart and Dawson.
In 1922, Neecheah was extended by 15 feet to make her more suitable for work on the busy, shallow Stewart River. The cost to rebuild her was $23,169.98. She was reclassified as a motor ship rather than a gas boat or launch, spent the summer placing buoys and sounding the channels. She also worked on the upper Lake Labarge flats, also relaying barges over the Flats in low water and preparing the Stewart Slough to quarter riverboats for the winter. The barge Hootalinqua was built to be pushed by Neecheah on the Stewart, enabling her to handle 75 tons of freight. In 1923, she operated with a skeleton crew, then stayed in dry dock at the Whitehorse shipyard until 1934. No WP&YR records are available for the years 1935-1942, so there is no information available about Neecheah through that period.
There are crew lists for Neecheah in 1942-42. In 1944, Neecheah spent the summer pushing a barge up and down the Stewart River, making 18 trips in total. The 1945 crew list shows she was still in service then, and was listed as part of the BYN floating equipment as late as 1950.
Doug Davidge said that Neecheah was renovated and opened as a restaurant near the Marsh Lake bridge for a time. Later on, the boat was moved to Mile 913 on the Alaska Highway and again used as a restaurant called "The Captain's Locker," which operated from 1973-1979.Technical and early historical information from 1995 research paper written by Daintry Chapple.
Deck: 1; Stern: Bevel; Build: Carvel; Head: Bevel; Framework: Wood; Bulkheads: Two; Length: 78.5; Breadth: 17.2; Depth: 3.1; Round of Beam: .04; Engineroom: 17.75; Engines: 2, 1920, 6 5/34 cylinder. 7 stroke, Wisonsin Motor Co., Milwaukee, WS. Gross tonnage: 93.39, Reg. tonnage: 63.51.
Wooden river vessel, ‘gas screw’ boat Kestrel (later Neecheah) was built for the American Yukon Navigation Co. (US division of WP&YR) at Whitehorse and registered in Eagle, AK. in 1920. Kestrel left Whitehorse June 28, 1920 for Holy Cross, AK. The boat carried mail, mostly on the Kantishna River, as well as towing a barge loaded with ore. In her first season, running river ice forced her to beach at Circle City, AK. for the winter. The crew had to travel by dogsled to Fairbanks, then overland to the coast.
In 1921, Kestrel was transferred to BYN Co., renamed Neecheah and registered as a CDN boat, mainly engaged in river improvement work on the Stewart, as well as carrying freight and passengers between Stewart and Dawson.
In 1922, Neecheah was extended by 15 feet to make her more suitable for work on the busy, shallow Stewart River. The cost to rebuild her was $23,169.98. She was reclassified as a motor ship rather than a gas boat or launch, spent the summer placing buoys and sounding the channels. She also worked on the upper Lake Labarge flats, also relaying barges over the Flats in low water and preparing the Stewart Slough to quarter riverboats for the winter. The barge Hootalinqua was built to be pushed by Neecheah on the Stewart, enabling her to handle 75 tons of freight. In 1923, she operated with a skeleton crew, then stayed in dry dock at the Whitehorse shipyard until 1934. No WP&YR records are available for the years 1935-1942, so there is no information available about Neecheah through that period.
There are crew lists for Neecheah in 1942-42. In 1944, Neecheah spent the summer pushing a barge up and down the Stewart River, making 18 trips in total. The 1945 crew list shows she was still in service then, and was listed as part of the BYN floating equipment as late as 1950.
Doug Davidge said that Neecheah was renovated and opened as a restaurant near the Marsh Lake bridge for a time. Later on, the boat was moved to Mile 913 on the Alaska Highway and again used as a restaurant called "The Captain's Locker," which operated from 1973-1979.Technical and early historical information from 1995 research paper written by Daintry Chapple.