Saving the
"Silver Slug"
![](../../../Archives/2003/09_October/images/Oct_main_article_image_1298-17-072.jpg) |
Faded
Beauty: The redoubtable Kakakala underway. Photo courtesy
Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society |
By Guy Span, S.D.
What is it about ancient
ferryboats that inspire people to save them, or try at least?
Notable successes include the Eureka, which is stuffed and
mounted like a trophy fish at the Hyde St. Maritime Museum. Or the Berkeley,
posing as a one-boat museum in San Diego with her boiler cut in
half, so we can look inside. In Sacramento, we have the Delta
King, preserved as a hotel, although it took years of wrangling
and many half-hearted attempts to save her. Here in the Bay Area, we
have several semi-preserved failures, including the half-sunk Fresno
of the famous Steel-Electric Fleet of Southern Pacific (sister to
the semi-preserved Santa Rosa, which is tied up at Pier 3).
Near the Fresno is the hulk of a Key System ferry. And there
are more.
But up in Seattle we have the
drama of the Kalakala (kah-LOCK-a-lah), the world’s first
and arguably only, fully streamlined ferry. Looking like an inverted
old-fashioned bathtub, with streamlined appendages, the Kalakala
instantly won the hearts of Seattle’s ferry riders. Affectionately
dubbed the "Silver Slug," she served Seattle faithfully
from her grand arrival in 1935 to her silent departure in 1967. So
unique was her appearance that World’s Fair-goers in 1963 dubbed
her the second biggest attraction (after the Space Needle).
The Kalakala was also
elegant. She had the Double Horseshoe Café, the Palm Room Bar
(including an after-deck area), and a little known, way-below deck
tap room, containing showers so the boatyard workers could scrub up,
change, and a grab a brew on the way home. Her name is from the
Chinook, meaning "Flying Bird" and that was also the name
of her orchestra. As an elegant lady, she entranced all that had the
opportunity for a moonlight dance special, or even a regular run to
Bremerton.
The Kalakala scored a
number of firsts. She was the first fitted with commercial radar and
still holds FCC License 001. At the time she was built, she was
equipped with a huge St. Louis Busch-Sulzer Diesel engine. Until
late in the ‘40s, she had the largest crankshaft in service. The
only other application for this large an engine was in stationary
power plants. But some combination of engine coupling or propeller
problems caused a large vibration, noted by riders of the time. In
the ‘50s, the propeller was replaced and the vibration dimmed, but
was still noticeable.
By the time the ‘60s rolled
around, the Kalakala was operating at reduced automobile
capacity, as cars had gotten bigger. So in 1967, she was sold to go
north as a fish cannery. Protesting her fate, the Kalakala
blew a piston and had to be towed out of town, kicking and
screaming. For the next seventeen years, the Kalakala served
as various fish and shrimp canneries until she was finally abandoned
in 1984 by a bankrupt processor. Grounded, gutted, and decaying, the
ferry then reverted to the city of Kodiak, Alaska, which tried to
sell her.
However there were few interested
until Peter Bevis saw her while working a fishing boat in the area.
He became enamored with trying to save her and started a volunteer
clean up, despite some harassment from the city. By 1992, Peter has
founded a non-profit corporation to take title of the vessel and
bring her home. And that is precisely what happened in 1998, when
the Kalakala, rusted and tired, returned under tow to her
home after serving as much time in exile as she did in service.
Perhaps that is the reason that Seattle turned out a real homecoming
celebration–guilt at letting the iconic ferryboat get away.
But there is more guilt for the
Seattle residents, as they then failed to rally behind the
foundation and cough up the funds to preserve her. Thus, Bevis was
removed from the board of the foundation and it later entered
bankruptcy. An auction was held and the ship was recently sold to
Charles Medlin for a mere $140,000. According to the Kalakala
foundation web site, Peter Bevis said, "I feel like Rip Van
Winkle. I went to Alaska to save this icon for the community and
when I got back, I couldn’t find the community."
So what happens next? According to
the auction house of James G. Murphy Co., Charles Medlin is the
winner with a $140,000 bid. Medlin posted the $25,000 deposit, but
then failed to deliver the rest of the cash and, according to Terry
Moore of the auctioneer, has forfeited the deposit. The Kalakala
was then offered to the second bidder at their last price of
$135,000 and they declined, perhaps thinking that at a new auction
their starting bid of $60,000 would win. The vessel is now offered
at $135,000 to the third highest bidder.
Nancy James, speaking as the
Trustee, refused to comment. Charles Medlin has not returned Bay
Crossings’ phone calls, but according to Peter Bevis, he is a
serious bidder. Medlin had approached the foundation two years ago
with an offer of $2 million–enough to satisfy the foundation’s
debt. But because his plan envisioned bringing the ferry to the Bay
Area, the foundation refused. So Bay Crossings asked Bevis if
he was happy that at least the bankruptcy would eliminate the
existing debt. Bevis then got animated. He pointed out that he had
borrowed $1.61 million on the sweat equity in his artist studios to
fund moving the Kalakala to Seattle. "Medlin offered us
$2 million for the vessel. He has now just bought it for $140,000.
You know what’s the difference in this equation? Me."
Peter Bevis went on to say,
"I’m done. I can’t set foot on the property, but I still
care. It’s like when the best girl you ever knew breaks up with
you. You still care, but there’s nothing you can do." So Bay
Crossings asked what he was going to do. And with remarkable
cheerfulness in the face of disaster, Bevis replied: "Well, I’ve
got four offers on my studios. I can drive bulldozers or fish. The
Lotto is at $44 million, I can bet on the date the keel was laid,
the top speed in knots, the number of scheduled crossings to
Bremerton, things like that."
And he went on to say Medlin is
serious. Bevis feels that the default in final payment is based upon
the auctioneer failing to deliver a title. "I don’t blame
him. He is being cautious, as there is strong sentiment for keeping
the Kalakala in Seattle." Apparently, the sentiment is
strong, but except for Peter Bevis and others whose sweat and toil
and donations have helped, there appears little to keep this ferry
in Puget Sound. But Bevis can be proud that instead of letting the Kalakala
rust away or get scrapped out of sight in Kodiak, she is now in
plain sight in Seattle and the subject of much controversy. Seattle
may lose the Kalakala for the second time, but in all
likelihood, the Kalakala will live on. And we can thank Peter
Bevis for that.