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The Public Works Dredge Tender Point Ellice
by John MacFarlane 2017
In an excellent example of the ‘just in time’ supply chain logistics the Point Ellice receives her boiler installed directly from the transport freighter by boiler installed by McDougall Jenkins Co. at North Vancouver BC. (Photo courtesy MMBC. )
In 1911 she was built in North Vancouver BC by North Shore Iron Works. 95.8’ x 20.1’ x 11.6’ Wooden hull 171gt 45rt She was powered by a 500hp inverted fore and aft compound surface condensing steam engine by Ross & Duncan Ltd., Glasgow Scotland UK. Engine and boiler installed by McDougall Jenkins Co. at North Vancouver BC. (In 1924 she was rebuilt to 171 tons.)
Point Ellice (Photo courtesy MMBC. )
In 1911 as a dredge tender she was owned by the Department of Public Works, Ottawa ON. In 1918 she was transferred to the Imperial Munitions Board, Ottawa ON. In 1919–1920 she was owned by The Minister of Public Works, Ottawa ON. In 1920–1957 she was owned by the Pacific Great Eastern Towing Co. Vancouver BC for Vancouver to Squamish car barge service.
The Point Ellice at the Brackman–Ker plant. (Photo courtesy MMBC. )
In 1913 she was in a collision with the Princess Charlotte outside Vancouver harbour. In 1920 she was put on the Vancouver to Squamish barge towing service. On January 28th, 1913, in a heavy fog, the the CPR steamer Princess Charlotte collided with the dredge Mastodon outside Vancouver harbour. The Point Ellice was laying alongside the dredge and all three vessels became badly entangled. The vessels extracted themselves without serious damage. In 1957 the Point Ellice was rendered unnecessary by the construction of the Second Narrows Bridge and she was sold to Capital Iron & Metals Ltd., Victoria BC for scrapping.
To quote from this article please cite:
MacFarlane, John M. (2017) The Public Works Dredge Tender Point Ellice. Nauticapedia.ca 2017. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/Tug_Pt_Ellice.php
Site News: April 24, 2024
The vessel database has been updated and is now holding 92,289 vessel histories (with 15,634 images and 13,293 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.