 Equator configured as a tugboat, 1934 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Builder | Mathew Turner |
| Launched | 1888 |
| Out of service | Abandoned in 1956 |
| Fate | Dismantled in 2023 |
| Status | Stored by Port of Everett, timber to be reused for public art piece |
| General characteristics | |
| Installed power |
|
| Sail plan | Schooner |
Equator | |
  | |
| Location | 14th St. Yacht Basin Everett, Washington, United States |
| Coordinates | 48°00′14″N122°13′05″W / 48.00389°N 122.21806°W /48.00389; -122.21806 |
| Built | 1888 |
| Architect | Matthew Turner |
| NRHP reference No. | 72001281[1] |
| Added to NRHP | 14 April 1972 |
Equator was a two-masted pygmy tradingschooner known for carrying passengersRobert Louis Stevenson andFanny Vandegrift Stevenson on a voyage through the islands ofMicronesia in 1889. She was later used as awire drag vessel by theUnited States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and finally as atugboat along thePuget Sound until her abandonment in 1956.Equator was left to decay as part of abreakwater before she was saved in the 1960s. Efforts to restore her ultimately failed, leaving her remains under an enclosed structure in a decaying state.
ShipbuilderMatthew Turner designed and builtEquator as a two-masted schooner inBenicia,California, in 1888 for thecopra trade in theSouth Seas.[2][3] In mid 1889,Robert Louis Stevenson andFanny Vandegrift Stevenson chartered the Equator in Hawaii for extended South Pacific cruising.[2][4] Robert Stevenson learned a lot about sea life from his voyage, which later influenced his booksTreasure Island andThe Wrecker.[2][3] He ultimately took up residence inSamoa, which was reached byEquator.[2] Sometime in the 1890s, the schooner received asteam engine and worked as atender for either anArcticwhaling fleet or forcommercial fishing operations inAlaska.[3][5]Equator later was enlarged, and lost herbowsprit when the Carey-Davis Company purchased her in 1915.[2] During this phase of her career she was used as awire drag vessel by theUnited States Coast and Geodetic Survey.[2]
Equator was later converted togasoline engines sometime in the 1920s, but in 1923 she ran aground on theQuillayute Bar.[2] It remains unclear whenEquator was converted into atugboat, as sources give dates of 1916, 1923, and 1941 all as possibilities.[2][3][5] In any case, she was completely renovated in 1923, and received adiesel engine in 1941.[3][5]Equator spent her final years as a tugboat in use inPuget Sound until 1956, when she was abandoned on the coast ofJetty Island outsideEverett,Washington.[5] She was then left to decay with other discarded vessels for the next 11 years as part of abreakwater .[3][5]
The first efforts to saveEquator were led by Everett dentist Eldon Schalka in the 1960s. Eventually he was able to mobilize enough volunteers from the Everett Kiwanis Club in to haul the vessel ashore and clean the muck out of her sometime in June 1967.[3][5][6] She was then dry-docked at the 14th Street Fisherman's Boat Shop in Everett.[5] A survey conduced on February 21, 1968, by theNational Register of Historical Places gave the following description (with recommendations) of the ship's condition at the time:
"The deck house and all machinery, the propeller, shaft and fittings had been removed, and only the bare hull of the vessel remained. Before and after the vessel had been removed from the breakwater and put into drydock a survey was made of the accessible areas of the hull and the condition of these areas appeared to be reasonably sound. During the course of years many changes were made to the hull structure. The stem is now plumb, and this may have been in the original design, as many small schooners were built in that manner. The stern is certainly not the original, and this should be cut back to a point where the stern can be rebuilt to conform to the original design. The big factors in restoring the "Equator" would be the rebuilding of the stern, redecking, caulking and rerigging."[2]
Schalka helped to establish a nonprofit group to restore the vessel, which despite little fundraising success managed to getEquator listed in theNational Register of Historic Places on April 14, 1972. This was the first Everett property to receive this designation.[3][5] The foundation ultimately tried but failed to raise enough money to restore the vessel, which eventually became an eyesore for the local community.[7] By the late 1980s, Equator had been reduced to a crumbling hull and was moved to its present location at the corner of 10th Street and Craftsman Way.[5] The foundation that Schalka had started was finally dissolved after his death in 1992 in a plane crash.[7]
Equator initially sat under a makeshift structure that was exposed on all sides, leaving her exposed to the elements.[7] Eventually her back side collapsed in November 2017, which led thePort of Everett to enclose the shelter around her to protect her from further decay.[5]Equator remains in a fragile state as she cannot be moved or preserved in place. To further complicate matters, she is also described as an "orphan" with no legal owner.[5][7] There is currently a makeshiftopen air museum in place forEquator, which includes the National Register plaque and aninterpretive sign, as well as a list of donors to theEquator Foundation.[3]
Confronted with that situation, the Port of Everett gave notice of its intent to take custody of the ship. Notices were affixed to either side of the bow indicating that in order for any putative owner to take custody of the ship, they would have to come forward by May 29, 2022, prove their ownership, relocate the vessel to "an authorized anchorage area, moorage facility, or storage location," and pay the Port of Everett for all of itssalvage costs, storage fees, etc.[8]
The Port of Everett took custody ofEquator and announced plans to dismantle her and reuse her timber forpublic art and an interpretive exhibit. Severalnautical archeologists, including students fromTexas A&M University, began documenting the ship's remains in June 2023 while preparations for dismantling her were made.[9]
In September 2023, work began on dismantling and removingEquator from her shelter.[10]
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