Jeffery and Christine Smith - Motor Vessel DavidB

The David B was built in 1929 at the Lake Washington Shipyard in Houghton, Washington for the Libby, McNeil and Libby Co. She worked in Bristol Bay, Alaska at the company’s cannery in Ekuk on the Nushugak River for about 25 seasons.  Many vessels like the David B were built to tow small sail-powered boats to the salmon fishing grounds. This method was used to get around a federal rule that prohibited engines in fishing boats. The David B would tow a string of as many as twelve to fifteen boats to the grounds, then pick them up for their return.In the 1950’s the Nushugak River in front of the cannery changed course, forcing the company to move its operations elsewhere, and leaving the David B stuck on the beach. Decades later, the boat was pulled a quarter of a mile across the beach and relaunched. New owners brought her by barge to Seattle. In 1998, Northwest Navigation acquired the David B and began restoring her for passenger service. All of the deck beams and decking have been replaced, and a new trunk cabin has been built. All the systems (such as navigation and electrical) except the engine, have been replaced or rebuilt. Hours of loving care have been spent to get the vessel working again after her fifty-year retirement and to give her a new life in the small ship cruise industry.