In 1932, White Spruce was custom built as a private vessel in the Harbor Shipyard of Vancouver, B.C.. She is built with 1-1/4″ Alaskan yellow and Red Cedar planking fastened to White Oak frames with galvanized clinch nails and a Douglas Fir keel with an ironbark shoe. Originally coined the “Sea Belle III”, she was powered by a Hercules Russel 120 hp engine.
In 1945, the B.C. Forest Service acquired and re-named her “White Spruce”, in line with the other ships in the fleet. She spent mid-century plying the Inside Passage and serving the isolated Ocean Falls community, located 300 miles north of Vancouver. Ocean Falls was built around a thriving pulp and paper mill in a location accessible only by air and water. White Spruce was an important link to the rest of the world for the several thousand “Rain People” residents during this time.
Following her Forest Service years, White Spruce suffered a period of neglect but was rescued from disrepair in the 1980s in Powell River, B.C.. There, she underwent a major rebuild and her original engine was replaced with the 1962 175 hp JT6 Cummins that still powers her today.
In 1999, White Spruce was brought to Seattle, Washington and has since called her covered slip at Lockhaven Marina “home”. She has passed through the care of four different devoted caretakers here. In recent decades, her keel, transom and main cabin have been rebuilt, and she has benefited from many other interior and equipment updates, including restoration of her interior cosmetics. Most recently, a new Walter keel has replaced the original and she is in the midst of many electrical upgrades.