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Sternwheelers on the New Westminster BC Waterfront

Sampson and Native

New Westminster British Columbia is located on the navigable lower Fraser River and was once the capital of the Crown Colony and jumping off spot to river shipping. The Samson V (on the right), built in 1937 at the Star (Mercer's) Shipyards, was the last steam-powered sternwheeler to operate in Canada (Canada Department of Public Works).She was retired as a snag boat in 1980 and is now a museum vessel. She is 136 feet long, 31 feet wide and draws 4.5 feet of water. Her engine was built in 1909.

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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).

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