# Sinking the Kalakala **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 27, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324 "2004-05-27T12:49:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/1 "2004-05-27T12:49:42Z")
The news just said that the [_Kalakala_](http://www.kalakala.org/)’s new owner is “thinking about sinking” the historic ferry. The owner, Steven Rodrigues, says that unless he can raise $500,000 he may cut his losses and scuttle her in Neah Bay. There are a lot of divers in Puget Sound, and I’m sure they’d like to have another wreck to dive. I get the impression (bing new to the area) that most of wrecks are up north. (I dove HMCS _Saskatchewan_ a couple of weeks ago, and there are artificial reef societies in BC.) But a frigate like _Saskatchewan_ is one thing; sinking an historical ship – a one-of-a-kind treasure – seems wrong to me. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/2 "2004-05-27T13:06:37Z")
I read the history. This boat has has a good and lengthy life. It’s time to put this boat to bed. Sink her. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/3 "2004-05-27T13:30:20Z")
> [@](#): > > This boat has has a good and lengthy life. It’s time to put this boat to bed. Sink her. > [@](#): > > She was the world’s first streamlined vessel. Her construction pioneered electro-welding techniques that eliminated the need for rivets in ships. The KALAKALA was awarded the very first commercial radar system, and still holds FCC license 001. Her Busch-Sulzer diesel engine is the largest of its kind ever installed in a ferryboat, and she held the record for the longest crankshaft in North America until after World War II. Sounds like an important piece of local and maritime history to me, and deserving of a new life as a museum. Else, why would we keep _any_ old ship around? _Queen Mary_, for example, makes a much better tourist attraction as a hotel and museum than she would as a wreck-diving destination. But then, I love old vessels. I’ve been to some meetings to save the 1940s fishing boat _Dakota_, and I’m horrified by the condition of Jacques Cousteau’s _Calypso_. There’s a 108-foot iron-hulled yacht in Blaine Harbor. Built in 1893 in San Francisco, _El Primero_ has been host to several U.S. Presidents. She’s rotting at her mooring. ☹ Once these vessels are gone, they’re _gone_. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/4 "2004-05-27T19:04:25Z")
Good riddence! I moved up here in 98, and at that time the Kalakala was recently repurchased. for about a month and a half, every leading news story on the news was “HERE COMES THE KALAKA!” or “THE KALAKALA IS COMING HOME” week afte rweek. I mean even before important news. It was driving me nuts. THen it gets here and just sits at a dock forever just rotting away… no one doing enything to it. Just sink the damn thing. I am sick of hearing about it. ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/5 "2004-05-27T19:15:25Z")
As illustrious and beautiful as her design is, she’s certainly spent much more of her life as a white elephant than anything else. Perhaps sinking her will revive more sustained interest than she ever attained while floating (or semi-floating when she was a cannery…). ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/6 "2004-05-27T19:40:16Z")
I’m a big fan of historic ships. I remember visits to the _Constitution_, the _Massachusetts_, the _Olympia_ and many others fondly. I’m a bit torn on this one, though. On the one hand, if the _Kalakala_ is sunk or broken up, it eliminates the possibility that people in the future will be able to visit her. The resource is gone, and pictures can only do so much. It should be noted that all of the vessels I named were faced with destruction after their perceived usable service ended, but were saved. On the other hand, this one does not seem that “worthy” of preservation. It’s more a reflection of Art Deco aesthetic than a historic vessel. Its home seems to lie more in the direction of a museum of industrial design than a museum of maritime history. There was an attempt to save it, but the people didn’t support it. As a dive site, it might at least it may have some value. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/7 "2004-05-27T20:07:29Z")
This poor boat has had such a sad history. Left for decades, sort of rescued several times, and still not restored in the least. I’d love to see her being put to some use, but I hope that isn’t as a diving wreck. I think that Rodrigues is just using the Oral Roberts’ He-will-call-me-home technique: threaten your supporters with the end of the project, and they’ll find the money somewhere. If he does scuttle it, he should donate it to the [Edmonds Underwater Park](http://www.ci.edmonds.wa.us/Discovery_Programs%20Website/Underwater_Park.html), which is, after all, next to a ferry dock. ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/8 "2004-05-27T21:02:18Z")
Good riddance, I say. That thing is an eyesore and would take way too much money to ever restore properly. I mean it was a fish cannery for a good part of it’s life! No smart investor is going to put any money into that thing. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/9 "2004-06-29T00:57:24Z")
I just heard that the film and story rights to the _Kalakala_ are to be sold on eBay. I looked, but did not see the listing. According to [http://www.kalakala.org/](http://www.kalakala.org/) > [@](#): > > The sale includes exclusive contract rights to create the documentary, film, and enjoy the ship during her Grand Opening Rebirth Ceremonies scheduled for July 3rd, 4th, and 5th, 2009. The winning bidder will be able to select her port of call (anywhere within the Puget Sound, Canadian Victoria or Vancouver, B.C. water ways), and to enjoy their own private celebration for a 2 week cruise vacation. The winning bidder will also to receive a 2 week cruise vacation on board the Kalakala while she enjoys the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver B.C. with the privilege of full use of all Kalakala’s space (except her Museum space, engine rooms, and other auxiliary service restricted areas). ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/10 "2004-06-29T10:25:39Z")
Hey! maybe **Steven Rodrigues** could join our white elephant exchange! He certainly has one. The Kalakala was an experiment. She produced harmonic vibrations that made her hard to handle, as well as being no picnic for her passengers. She was a pretty, art deco princess, but not any more. Let her die with dignity MHO ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/11 "2004-06-29T12:09:40Z")
I’ve always been attracted to Art Deco designs. Why don’t we see mpre of it today? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/12 "2004-06-29T12:12:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Why don’t we see mpre of it today? 😕 We did… Back in the '80s. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/13 "2004-06-29T12:14:30Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I just heard that the film and story rights to the _Kalakala_ are to be sold on eBay. I think it should be a Broadway musical; featuring a song called ‘thinking about sinking’. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/14 "2004-06-29T12:25:14Z")
[Here’s the auction](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18840&item=4021794986&rd=1). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/15 "2005-09-23T02:08:54Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > But then, I love old vessels. I’ve been to some meetings to save the 1940s fishing boat \*Dakota[/i… There’s a 108-foot iron-hulled yacht in Blaine Harbor. Built in 1893 in San Francisco, _El Primero_ has been host to several U.S. Presidents. She’s rotting at her mooring. ☹ Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I’ve noticed _Dakota_ is missing. [Seems she was donated to the Pacific Marine Foundation](http://www.thenorthernlight.com/archives/2005/tnl_january27/inside4.html) in January,and is now at Fisherman’s Terminal. As for [_El Primero_](http://www.thenorthernlight.com/archives/2005/tnl_august18/tnl_august18.html), she’s apparently been sold. The photo shows that her bowsprit has been knocked off. Let’s hope the new owner makes her seaworthy again! ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/16 "2005-09-23T03:25:18Z")
NO! I love that rusted wreck. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/17 "2005-09-23T03:37:10Z")
If there’s no funding to place the _Kalakala_ in a museum, make her seaworthy and useful again or sink her. Sink her with a solemn ceremony and fond farewells of champagne and flowers, but sink her. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/18 "2005-09-23T08:45:43Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > We did… Back in the '80s. Makes you wonder how much of it has been destroyed since then. It’s a tougher sell than a lot of historical eras. It tends to be made with excellent artisanship and non-permanent materials, making it difficult to preserve and damn near impossible to replicate. It tends to have a pop feel, which makes art and design scholars turn up their noses, and it’s still recent enough that people aren’t totally convinced it’s culturally important. There may also be some well-disguised bigotry at work here. Deco design is sometimes spoken of as “garish” or “campy,” a fake-nice way of suggesting that most of its serious specialists are either Jewish or gay. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/19 "2005-09-23T14:27:12Z")
I’d turn that sucker into a party boat and start pushing it as a great place for family reunions, wedding receptions, etc. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324/20 "2005-09-23T17:20:52Z")
**Johnny** , wouldn’t you rather dive [the B-29 in Lake Mead](http://www.nps.gov/lame/station/news/021126.html)? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-the-kalakala/247324.md?page=2)