The late 19th and early 20th century was a time of great expansion for our province. Although the railways had yet to be completed and travel by car was not yet feasible, British Columbia was bustling like never before. Through this, emerged the prevalence of sternwheelers as the main form of transportation among interior communities. By 1890, the Columbia and Kootenay Steam Navigation Company had services on the Kootenay and Arrow lakes as well as on the Columbia river from Revelstoke to down through Washington. The Canadian Pacific Railway saw the crucial role that these ships played and also entered the lake and river service. First starting west in the Okanagan Valley, before then moving to obtain controlling interest over their competitors in the Kootenays.
In 1897, the CPR bought out the C&KSN company, including much of their crew and their entire fleet of steamers. First becoming a riverboat captain at just nineteen years of age, Captain
James W. Troup worked across B.C and Oregon, before permanently settling down, at the age of thirty-seven, with the C&KSN Co. Naturally, when the CPR absorbed the C&KSN, the highly sought after captain was to be traded over to the company. Troup became superintendent of the CPR river and lake service, overseeing each ship's construction, launch and overall management. As the CPR began to expand their fleets, Captain Troup brought in Master Shipbuilder Thomas J. Bulger and his two sons, James and David, from Oregon, to overlook the building of his vessels. Together, they designed and built many ships, from the coastal Princess fleet to our beloved sternwheelers of the interior.
The group had long before proposed steel hulled sternwheelers but, until the S.S Bonnington of 1911, had yet to see this design off paper. It was the spring of 1913, when the S.S Sicamous was commissioned to replace the smaller S.S Okanagan as the main CPR vessel on Okanagan Lake. Sister ship and near duplicate of the Kootenay's own S.S Bonnington and S.S Nasookin, the Sicamous combined features of older CPR ships from the 1890s, with that of modern design, in what would come to be the last fleet of CPR sternwheelers.
The S.S Sicamous was to feature a lengthened steel hull for increased speed, multiple decks with sleeping accommodations and saloons, a mezzanine overlooking the dinning room, electricity, running water, and would be equipped with modern fire protections. The ship could run at a steady 20mph, making one round trip and up to 32 stops a day.
Construction of a vessel like the Sicamous was no easy feat and required work across multiple shipyards. To begin this grand project, ship plans were sent to the Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company of Port Arthur, Ontario. There, her boiler, engines, and hull were prefabricated, tested and before long, began their journey to the Okanagan landing shipyard by rail. Along with the materials and supplies, came the Western Dry dock riveting crew, who were to take part in the shipbuilding process. The Crew of 150 men, including master builder James M. Bulger, Shipwright John Stobo and foreman joiner George H. Keyes, started work in September of 1913.
Before long, Okanagan Landing shipyards was bustling with activity as work began assembling the hull. As welding was not yet a common practice, each rivet was driven in manually and involved four men per rivet.
To place a rivet was a multiple steps process. First, the stoker heats the rivet until it is near molten, then it is tossed to the catcher who inserts the rivet into the steel pieces, the holder keeps everything in position, using the tool labeled "A" in the diagram, before the riveter then hammers down the reverse side to create a "flat head". As the metal cools it contracts and compresses the steel together, making the hull perfectly watertight.
While the steel pieces were prefabricated, all of the woodworking was done on site, using Douglas fir and BC cedar for the superstructure and Australian mahogany and Burmese teak for interior detailing. Hand crafted by shipwright John Stobo's carpenters, the logs would be cut in a local mill before our crew could process the raw lumber using hand tools such as moulding, jack and trying planes.
Intricately, this wood was hand carved into modern yet regal designs, emphasizing the ability of the CPR's skilled labourers.
As most riverboats are, the superstructure was painted white with red accents. For white appears clean and attractive while also reflecting light, keeping the vessel cool during hot summers and red, used for the paddlewheel, hull, exterior stairs and hand rails, could hide staining and dirt which often accumulated when pushing through shallow waters.
Beyond woodwork, the Sicamous was fitted with a 32-volt electrical system, which was driven by a steam generator and provided the ship with internal and external lighting, as well as electric fans and heaters to disperse throughout the ship.
Construction progressed through until late spring of 1914, as the the crew began to near completion of the ship. As she was CPR owned, the Sicamous was fit head-to-toe in luxurious furnishings. The stairs were lined with brass embellishing from Scotland, above stateroom doors were delicately carved vents, coloured glass windows lined the ceilings, and each room furnished with a timeless elegance. With these finishing touches she was set to sail. The steamer's launch was set for May 19th 1914, and welcomed a large crowd for her christening.
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