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The Mission Boat Wm. H. Pierce

by John MacFarlane 2017

W.H. Pierce

The mission boat Wm. H. Pierce (Photo from the Judd Gallagher collection.)

In 1940 the Wm. H. Pierce was built at Sea Island BC by Baba Bros. Boatworks. She was built as the Smithy; then Pierce; then Wm. H. Pierce 11.25m x 3.32m x 1.68m (36.9’ x 10.9’ x 5.5’) Wooden hull 18.73gt 16.66rt She was powered by a 60bhp diesel engine (1940).

Judd Gallagher shared two images of this vessel while she was operating as a mission boat.

W.H. Pierce

The mission boat Wm. H. Pierce (Photo from the Judd Gallagher collection.)

In 1940–1942 she was owned by Joseph D. Smith, Vancouver BC. In 1943–1946 she was owned by Ira D. Stoddart, Vancouver BC. In 1947–1963 she was owned by the United Church of Canada, Toronto ON. In 1964–1967 she was owned by Knut L. Ostrom, Prince Rupert BC. In 1968–1975 she was owned by John Micholuk, Prince Rupert BC. In 1976–1993 she was owned by Gregor A. McLeod, Prince Rupert BC. In 1994–1997 she was owned by Gordon L. Cox, Prince Rupert BC. In 2004–2017 she was owned by Gordon L. & Linda Cox, Prince Rupert BC.

The W.H. Pierce was a cabin cruiser purchased by the United Church of Canada hospital at Bella Bella in 1947. It was used by Dr. George Darby in his medical missionary work.


To quote from this article please cite:

MacFarlane, John M. (2017) The Mission Boat Wm. H. Pierce. Nauticapedia.ca 2017. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/WH_Pierce.php

Nauticapedia

Site News: December 21, 2024

The vessel database has been updated and is now holding 94,824 vessel histories (with 16,274 images and 13,929 records of ship wrecks and marine disasters).

Vessel records are currently being reviewed and updated with more than 45,000 processed so far this year (2024).

The mariner and naval biography database has also been updated and now contains 58,599 entries (with 3996 images).

Thanks to Ray Warren who is beginning a long process of filling gaps in the photo record of vessel histories in the database. Ray has been documenting the ships of Vancouver Harbour for more than 60 years.

Thanks to contributor Mike Rydqvist McCammon for the hundreds of photos he has contributed to illustrate British Columbia’s floating heritage.

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