The Boat That Bit a Rock
A steamship captain discovers a rock wedged entirely through the hull of his vessel, yet she never leaked a drop.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Captain A. O. Benjamin states that when the Basilar was hauled out, a ragged piece of rock was found sticking to her bottom. An effort was made to knock it off, without avail, and on making an examination it was found that the rock extended entirely through the planking of the hull, and two or three inches up into the hold. The captain says he does not remember ever having struck anything with the boat hard enough to drive a rock through her and break it off, but there was the rock as proof. It fitted so tightly into the hole it had made that the steamer had not leaked a drop around the stone.
“It fitted so tightly into the hole it had made that the steamer had not leaked a drop around the stone.”
In an era of wooden ships and dangerous, unmapped waterways, such mechanical mysteries were frequent. This account serves as a testament to both the ruggedness of the vessels and the unpredictable hazards of navigating the Puget Sound.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.