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The R.F.M.
by Drew Clarke and John MacFarlane 2017
The RFM (Photo from the Drew Clarke collection.)
The R.F.M. was built in 1922 at Beach Avenue Shipyard (Arthur Moscrop) Vancouver BC as the T.G.H., later R.F.M., later Francis Lynn II, later Brora Thor, later Merrie Ellen. She is 23.1m x 6m x 3m (75.9’ x 19.8’ x 12.4’) wooden hull 96.47gt 64.04rt. She was powered with a 33hp 3–cylinder triple expansion surface condensing steam engine by W. Beardmore & Company, Coatbridge UK. Over the years she was repowered with 300hp engine (1945); 300bhp Imperial engine (1968); 90bhp CAT diesel engine (1988c).
The R.F.M. (Photo from the Drew Clarke collection.)
In 1922–1958 she was owned by Marpole Towing Co. Ltd., Vancouver BC. In 1960–1961 she was owned by Evans Coleman & Evans, Vancouver BC. In 1962 she was owned by Bert Booth, Port Coquitlam BC. In 1965–1968 she was owned by George W. O’Brien, New Westminster BC. In 1968 she was owned by Ante Bakica, Vancouver BC. In 1969 she was owned by Lady Valentine Charters, Vancouver BC. In 1976–1979 she was owned by Wayne M. Pinkeston (MO), Vancouver BC. In 1982–1999 she was owned by Brian W. Holshoe, New Westminster BC and registered at Vancouver BC. In 2000 she was owned by Ralph I. Higgins, Cowichan Bay BC. In 2005 she was owned by Curtis Forsyth, Lac La Hache BC. In 2007–2017 she was owned by John & Jill Holbert, Brinnin WA USA.
The R.F.M. (Photo from the Drew Clarke collection.)
This vessel spent the first part of her life as a tugboat, named for Richard Friedrich Marpole. In 1988 she was rebuilt as a schooner by Brian Holshoe.
To quote from this article please cite:
Clarke, Drew and John MacFarlane (2017) The R.F.M.. Nauticapedia.ca 2017. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/RFM.php
Site News: April 17, 2024
The vessel database has been updated and is now holding 92,205 vessel histories (with 15,628 images and 13,173 records of ship wrecks and marine disasters). The mariner and naval biography database has also been updated and now contains 58,616 entries (with 4,013 images).
In 2023 the Nauticapedia celebrated the 50th Anniversary of it’s original inception in 1973 (initially it was on 3" x 5" file cards). It has developed, expanded, digitized and enlarged in those ensuing years to what it is now online. If it was printed out it would fill more than 300,000 pages!
My special thanks to our volunteer IT adviser, John Eyre, who (since 2021) has modernized, simplified and improved the update process for the databases into a semi–automated processes. His participation has been vital to keeping the Nauticapedia available to our netizens.
Also my special thanks to my volunteer content accuracy checker, John Spivey of Irvine CA USA, who has proofread thousands of Nauticapedia vessel histories and provided input to improve more than 11,000 entries. His attention to detail has been a huge unexpected bonus in improving and updating the vessel detail content.