The Teal was the cause of a dock fight in Hood River. In 1915 the captain, Arthur Riggs of the Regulator Company wanted to control the docking of boats in Hood River. He secured a large barge and put it in the Teal's renting space. By having this big barge in there he could limit room for other ships to dock. Open River Line, whether an actual company or not took the Teal, hooked it to that barge and with a wide open throttle, jerked that barge out of there into the river, taking piling, etc. along with it. The sheriff was called when a dock fight ensued over all this.

The Teal would eventually burn in Portland.

Charlott on 13th January 2016 @ 7:13am

The island in not the same shape today, is it possible the tailings piled there were bladed off to the north to widen and flatten the island?

Kenn on 13th January 2016 @ 8:20am

Boat versus ship, my understanding-
An SS or steam ship has a deep keel for stability on open seas. A riverboat is flat bottom for shallower inland waters and being able to nose up to the bank almost anywhere o take on wood, freight or passengers.

Kenn on 13th January 2016 @ 8:37am

Boats or ships are for the most part used interchangeably today. W have large oreboats on the great lakes and ocean going tugboats on the high seas. And crab boats in the Bering sea have deep keels. I suppose large vessels on the high seas are generally referred to as ships, but otherwise I believe either word can be used at the discretion of the speaker.

Buzz on 13th January 2016 @ 9:01am

A lot of the early Columbia River "boat" captains came from the Mississippi River. I wonder if each area had their own terminology.
I read about one of the first on the lower Columbia who came to Astoria to take a steam ship up to Portland. He knew nothing about the tides on the Columbia River and when he tied up for the night, he almost lost the boat on the rising tide.

L.E. on 13th January 2016 @ 10:18am

I believe a ship was originally a sailing vessel with three or more mast. The term was later applied to large power vessels. The word ship is also more apt to be use for a large sea going craft, while a boat is more apt to be used for large craft on inland waterways. As others have said the terms boat and ship have varying regional usage.

Longshot on 13th January 2016 @ 3:00pm

If you look up SS Joseph N Teal 1942 you will probably find a real ship.

Not as exciting as Charlott's story.....
Joseph Nathan Teal was influential in water and rail navigation, travel, lumber and fruit along the Columbia River. He was a strong booster for the Celilo Canal. This link says the steamship was one of the first through the canal.
http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/steamboats_columbia_river.html#celilo_canal

I don't know that Joseph N Teal and family ever lived in Hood River but they did spend time in the area.

L.E. on 13th January 2016 @ 8:26pm

Boat-ship, I know nowhere on earth of variations to the following regardless of number of masts or size of the vessel.
Deep draft for deep water stability is a ship ( battleships not battle boats)
Shallow draft for shallower water is a boat (tug boats not tug ships, row boats not row ships)
An advantage of the near flat bottom on a paddle wheeler was when it was aground or nosed up to shore, the water from the reversed wheel tended to lift the boat.

Kenn on 14th January 2016 @ 8:12am

This boat was captained by Charles Ackerman who was the daughter of Jens Wonsyld (Ed Wonsyld's older sister)

rachell on 2nd March 2016 @ 7:37pm

The Open River Transportation Company, owners of the J N Teal and other steamers, was dissolved in 1913 due to competition from the railroads.
https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83009939/1913-02-19/ed-1/seq-8/

Jeffrey W Bryant on 7th September 2021 @ 6:28am

A boat can fit on a ship, but a ship cannot fit on a boat. Ships are ocean going vessels, boats for more shallow waters.

Susan Buce on 10th October 2022 @ 4:35pm