Alki (boat)

The Alki is a fireboat noted for its long service in Seattle, Washington.[2] The boat was built in 1927 and is 123 feet (37 m) long. She was Seattle's third fireboat.[3] She was built with gasoline engines, which were replaced with diesels in 1947. The new engine retrofit allowed the Alki to increase its pumping capacity from 12,000 gallons per minute to 16,200 gallons per minute.[4] She replaced the Snoqualmie, Seattle's first fireboat.[5]

The Alki showing off in 1940
NameAlki
BuilderPacific Coast Engineering
Launched1927
Out of service2013
General characteristics
Tonnage
Length118 feet (36 m)
Beam26 feet (7.9 m)
Depth10.8 feet (3.3 m)
PropulsionTwo Cleveland 500 horsepower (370 kW) diesel engines[2]

Seattle sits on both Puget Sound and a series of freshwater lakes, including Lake Union and Lake Washington.[2] In 2002, after a large fire, where thirty vessels were destroyed, firefighting authorities decided to permanently station a fireboat on the lakes, because it takes an hour for a fireboat to traverse the locks between the lakes and the Ocean. Alki was the vessel chosen.

The boat has been taken out of service and was auctioned online beginning March 4, 2013.[6][7] It was stipulated by the City ahead of time that the high bidder must meet certain requirements, including appropriate insurance and moorage.[8] The vessel was sold for $71,000 on March 14, 2013, to an anonymous buyer, who subsequently backed out, when he or she found that new insurance for the vessel could not be obtained without a third party survey of fitness. The city looked into selling the vessel to lower bidders, but none of them seemed to have the financial backing to maintain the vessel.[9]

In June Seattle paid for a survey, and some minor repairs, and announced plans to offer the vessel for sale again, this time at a live auction.[10][11][12][13] In August 2014 Craig Mullen, the fourth owner in the year since Seattle sold the vessel, admitted falling behind in the mortgage payments for the Alki, and said he feared he might have to break up the historic vessel, and sell off its parts.[14][15] Mullen bought the Alki at auction from the Port of Skagit in May 2014. Mullen's asking price was $50,000—exactly twice what the vessel had sold for, at Seattle's live auction, a year earlier.[16] The Alki is in the process of being scrapped as of April 13, 2020 in Tacoma WA.

Notes
  1. "Coast Guard Vessel Documentation". NOAA. Archived from the original on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  2. Jo Bailey, Carl Nyberg (2002-07-18). "Freshwater Fireboat--Alki is Ready". Seattle Press. Archived from the original on 2008-08-27.
  3. "Alki fireboat: The History". Archived from the original on 2015-08-10. Retrieved 2017-03-20. In 1927 Seattle's third fireboat, the Alki, measuring 123 feet in length with a pumping capacity of 12,000 gallons per minute, replaced the aging Snoqualmie fireboat.
  4. "Alki fireboat: The Boat". Archived from the original on 2015-08-10. Retrieved 2017-03-20. Designed by Pacific Coast Engineering in Oakland, California - The Alki will astound you with her power and performance.
  5. Richard Schneider (2007). Seattle Fire Department. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781439634332. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
  6. Jack Broom (2013-03-14). "Seattle's 1927 fireboat draws $71,100 bid in online auction". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2013-03-15. Katherine Schubert-Knapp, spokeswoman for the city's Department of Finance & Administrative Services, said the city did not have a target price in mind for the vessel.She said the city won't be at liberty to disclose the buyer's identity until a sale is complete. Before then, the high bidder must meet certain requirements, including demonstrating that he or she has the required insurance and moorage.
  7. Elisa Jaffe (2013-03-01). "Historic Seattle fireboat heading to the auction block". Seattle: KOMO News. Archived from the original on 2013-05-29. Retrieved 2013-03-01. The Alki might be rough around the edges now, but in her day the vintage vessel was billed as the world's largest fire boat.
  8. Jack Broom (2013-04-15). "High bidder for fireboat Alki opts out". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2017-03-20. At the time of the auction, Schubert-Knapp said the boat wouldn't automatically go to the highest bidder, because the city would need to make sure a potential buyer met certain requirements, including having the appropriate insurance and a viable plan to move and moor the boat.
  9. Jack Broom (2013-06-16). "Seattle's historic fireboat lights no fire of future possibilities". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. But before the sale was finalized, the potential buyer backed out. At the time, Schubert-Knapp said the bidder who withdrew 'wanted to transport the boat a long distance and ultimately decided that would cost too much.' The city then offered the boat to lower bidders, but none proved to be viable options, she said.
  10. "Aging fireboat Alki to be inspected as city explores its future". The Seattle Times. 2013-06-24. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. The Alki, replaced by newer and more maneuverable fireboats, failed to draw a viable bidder in a 10-day online auction earlier this year. The lack of a survey of the boat was an obstacle for some bidders, because such an inspection is required before insurance can be obtained.
  11. Jack Broom (2013-08-16). "Second-try auction opens for fireboat Alki". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. Seattle's 1927-vintage fireboat Alki has been put up for auction a second time – this time with a marine survey report pegging the vessel's estimated value at $76,000.
  12. Colin Campbell (2013-08-22). "Seattle loses over $10,000 in auction of 86-year-old fireboat". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2017-03-20. This is the second time the boat has gone to auction; the first buyer backed out because the city hadn't yet done a marine survey on the boat.
  13. Colin Campbell, Aaron Spencer (2013-09-09). "Fireboat Alki sale finalized to Skagit County business owners". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. In a weeklong online auction in March, the Alki attracted a high bid of $71,100, but the seller backed out before a contract could be finalized. One obstacle to the sale, city officials said, was the lack of a recent survey report on the condition and worth of the vessel.
  14. Jack Broom (2014-08-23). "Want a fireboat? 1927 Alki may be scrapped if no buyer found". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-03-20. And the current owner says if he can't sell the Alki "as a whole," he may need to scrap the 1927-vintage vessel to recoup his costs.
  15. Stephanie Klein (2014-08-24). "Fireboat for sale: Own a piece of Seattle history". My Northwest. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. The owner, Craig Mullen, told The Seattle Times he just can't afford to hang onto the Alki. The Times reports Mullen bought the vessel three months ago from the Port of Skagit for $10,000. He's the fourth owner of the Alki since the city of Seattle sold it in September, 2013 for $25,000, according to The Times.
  16. "Alki fireboat: The Potential". Archived from the original on 2015-08-10. Retrieved 2017-03-20. The Alki is for sale again and priced to sell quickly at the reduced price of $50,000.00
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