Columbia River Gillnet Fishing Boat ALKI, Astoria Marine Construction Company, Astoria, Clatsop County, OR

Significance: Part of an ongoing project to document the evolution of the Columbia River gillnet boat, Alki is an example of a square-sterned bowpicker. Alki, built in 1949, was of the new generation of boats built with an engine installed, rather than a sailing boat converted to power as were most of the boats on the Columbia River for the first decades of the twentieth century. The hull was strengthened to handle the weight and vibrations of the engine. The newly adopted transom stern gave the full-displacement hull a semi-planing surface to help utilize the power of the gasoline engine.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1627
Survey number: HAER OR-170
Building/structure dates: 1949 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: after 2007 Subsequent Work