Wanna Buy a
Ferry?
Bay Crossings came across a
classified ad in Latitudes 38, a local yachting circular,
advertising a ferry for sale. We called the number listed and got
Brad Sears, owner of the ferry for sale, on the phone and asked
him what’s up:
What’s this ferry you’ve
got for sale?
It’s called the Victory I.
I bought it in 1986 from three guys who worked the Golden Gate
Ferry. They bought the Victory 1 and Victory 2 from
the Hunters Point Shipyard, ran them up to the Montezuma Slough.
It might be better termed a launch. It was licensed for 200 people
coast wise, which is a lot of people to take out in a flat bottom
boat on the ocean.
A Frenchman built it in 1943 at
the San Pedro Boathouse. During that era, they built a lot of
these boats for water taxis. It was employed by the H-10 Water
Taxi Company in San Pedro Harbor, Los Angeles. Up until 1973 it
was used in San Diego Harbor to run between the foot of Market
Street and Coronado Island.
It was mostly military
passengers, but I have a friend who grew up in San Diego and his
dad used to take his family out on the Victory 1. It only
cost a nickel so he could take the whole family out for a boat
ride for less than a half a buck. It was termed "the nickel
stealer." They built a bridge in the early 60’s but before
that, you had to take a ferry to get to Coronado Island.
What would it cost to buy my
own ferry?
$50,000. It needs an aft cabin
but could be an incredible palace. I’ve got $130,000 put into it
and the hours are countless. I just think for a certain type of
person who is adventurous and isn’t afraid of wooden boats, it’s
a great opportunity to live and work on the water. It doesn’t
leak. It’s got a tremendous amount of space. It runs like a
champ. All the really miserable grunt work has been done and the
glamorous restoration is awaiting someone with the knowledge to
pull it off.
It’s 63 feet long by 18 ½
feet wide. It draws about 3 feet with a real flat bottom. It’s
all rebuilt and basically all it needs a new aft cabin.
I understand you also own the
boat that serviced Alactraz when it was a working prison?
Yes, the Warden Johnson.
I bought it from the Sea Scouts two years ago and I got the
topside looking real good. A famous wooden workboat designer named
L.H. Coolidge from Seattle designed it. He designed the miki, a
military tug that was used in the bay. The Warden Johnson
was the last tugboat with a cabin on it. It made 250,000 trips
between the city front and Alcatraz.
For more information, contact
Brad Sears
1517 5th Avenue
San Rafael, CA 94901
415-456-1870
Photos by Dennis Anderson @
www.dandersonphoto.com
