Dodo

Dodo was built in Henderson Bay and launched in Potlatch, WA in 1934 as a working steam tugboat. Designed by Harold R. Lanning, Sr., Dodo is typical of small Puget Sound tugboats of the early 1900s. She was built with steamed oak frames, Douglas fir planking and backbone with galvanized steel fasteners.
Lanning named his boat Dodo because, as he often said during the 20-year build, “Steamboats will be extinct by the time I get it done!”

She ran as a steamer for log salvage, small towing jobs, fishing, crabbing, and shrimping from the Depression until the early 1950s. Eventually, her low horsepower limited the work. Subsequent owners enjoyed steaming and cruising the Puget Sound.

In 1990, the steam plant was removed, and she was converted to internal combustion diesel. However, when the current owners acquired Dodo, it was with intent to convert her back to steam. They partnered with Emerald Marine Carpentry in Anacortes, WA to return her to steam with the original engine and a new boiler in 2015.

Dodo’s steam engine is a 1918 US Navy Type K rated at 20HP, which was used by the Navy in a 33-foot cutter for ship-to-shore purposes. The boiler was designed by Paul Hylton, engineered by Dave Hylton, and built in 2013 by Under Pressure Manufacturing, Arlington, WA.

Dodo cruises the Salish Sea at 6.2 knots turning a 30″D x 38″P propeller 240 rpm at 125 psi and burning 60 lbs. of firewood an hour.