Ship profile for the sailing ship: "Alma"

Technical data of the sailing ship:

Name:Alma
Registered port:San Francisco
Nation:USA
Type of rigging:SCHONER
Type of ship:Scow Schooner
Year built:1891
Yard:F. Siemers, San Francisco, California, USA
Overall length:26.80 m
Length (hull):18.70 m
Breadth:7.20 m
Draught:1.10 m
Sail area:258 m2
Ship's hull:Holz / Wood
Engine:2 x Diesel

Portrait of the sailing ship:

Last update: 08 May 2022

  • built by Fred Siemers at Hunters Point in San Francisco Bay in 1891, the last of approximately 400 scow schooners used in the San Francisco Bay area to carry cargo between 1850 and the turn of the 19th century.
  • removal of her masts and bowsprit in 1918 when she was converted into a barge, the main hatch was also enlarged at this time.
  • in 1926, she was sold and modified again, becoming an oyster shell dredger, fitted with a gas engine, that was replaced by a more powerful diesel engine in 1951.
  • 1944 sold again, continued use as an oyster shell dredger, thus becoming the last San Francisco scow schooner in operation.
  • "Alma" was laid-up on the Alviso mudflats in 1957.
  • acquisition by the State of California in 1959, removal of her dredging machinery and deckhouse, served as a floating work platform for other museum vessels for several years.
  • restoration to her original configuration started when she was lifted from the water and placed on the pier in 1964, use of old photos, internal evidence, register information, and the plans of other scow schooners as well as portions of scow hulks around the bay, completed in 1968, and she was returned to the water.
  • owned and operated by the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park, support of many maritime festivals and parades in the bay area, crewed by volunteers, enables trainees and apprentices to learn about traditional sailing and wooden boat maintainance.
  • she has been a National Historic Landmark vessel since 1988.

Contact:

Website (English, 08 May 2022):
https://home.nps.gov/safr/learn/historyculture/alma.htm
Scow Schooner Alma: technical specification, photos, her history and the history of scow schooners, contact address

Literature for further reading:

We recommend the following references for your further research of the ship. The references marked with have been included in the generation of the ship profile on this page.

American Sail Training Association (ASTA)
"Sail Tall Ships! A Directory of Sail Training and Adventure at Sea"
2000 ISBN: 0-9636483-5-7
(12th Edition)
Page: 52 Source with picture Source with history Source with technical data Quelle with contact

Thaddeus Koza
"Tall Ships - the Fleet of the 21th Century"
Tide-Mark Press, East Hartford 2000 ISBN: 1-55949-551-0
(http://www.tallshipsinternational.com/)
Page: 17 Source with picture Source with history Source with technical data

American Sail Training Association (ASTA)
"Sail Tall Ships! A Directory of Sail Training and Adventure at Sea"
2007 ISBN: 978-0-9799878-0-9
(17th Edition)
Page: 102 Source with picture Source with history Source with technical data Quelle with contact