Samson history subpage

General
Each Samson had a distinctive A-frame at the bow of her main deck. This was used for the winch to snag and bring aboard debris and other material found in the river. The winch could lift up to 70 tons of water-soaked logs or other retrieved items.

Most of the earlier Samsons had rather short life spans. This was common for sternwheelers, because they were built as lightly as possible, to increase their speed. And even though the Samsons had much heavier structures than the passenger-carrying sternwheelers, the boats were worked hard: logs continually buffeted them, and their hulls were strained from the heavy lifting.

Though she was the smallest of them all, the first Samson had a long and colourful career, including helping the riverside communities when the 1884 freshet raised the river's height by over a foot and almost flooded the Fraser Valley.

The first Samson was built almost entirely of wood, and when the wood began to rot, the government requested that a new snagboat be built to replace her. In 1905, Samson was sold to Gilley Bros, where she was reconstructed and renamed Goliath. She worked at the Gilley Quarry on the Pitt River until 1909.

Samson II - 1905 to 1914
Samson II's hull dimensions served as a model for all those to follow, and she continues to contribute to the legacy - we believe that many components of her engines, as well as the crank and paddlewheel shaft, were reused on Samson III, Samson IV, and Samson V

(There are very few records or photographs of Samson II. If you have any material on Samson II, or know where some can be found, please contact us.)

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Samson III - 1914 to 1924
Built in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia in 1914, Samson III reused the A-frame steelwork (the knees and headpiece) from Samson II.

Samson III launching
the war vessel, Comox.

Samson III enjoyed many additional jobs beyond snagpulling. During World War I, Poplar Island in British Columbia's Fraser River was used as a shipbuilding facility, and Samson III assisted with the launch of a number of war vessels built during this time.

She also had a few jobs that took her off the Fraser River: The Department of Public Works occasionally sent the snagpuller to English Bay and False Creek, and to Gibsons and Snug Cove in the Georgia Strait. As well, she was sometimes used to drag for boulders in the Burrard Inlet's First Narrows (where the Lions Gate Bridge spans).

Samson III only served on the Fraser River for 10 years. She was sold privately, scrapped, and her registry closed in 1940. But, as with the previous Samsons, much of her machinery was reused on the vessels to follow. Samson V's steel knees that support the A-frame and the rest of the A-frame hardware are all from Samson III.

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Samson IV - 1924 to 1937 (Sorry, no picture yet. We hope to get one soon.)
Samson IV was built by Edward Mercer in New Westminster. She was slightly smaller than Samson III, but identical in structure, and she brought with her the engines and boiler from Samson III (which came from Samson II).

Samson IV was given even more diversified jobs than her predecessors. Added to her list of duties were:

* icebreaking
* dragging for boulders
* piledriving
* towing scows
* taking tidal gauge readings

She served on the Fraser River until she was sold in 1937, but many of her components were preserved and used in the building of Samson V. Samson IV went on to serve a fishing community as a bunkhouse and, as at May 2002, still exists.

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Samson V - 1937 to 1980
Samson V was launched with much fanfare on September 2, 1937. Because of her strong build, she served longer than any of her predecessors and plied the river for over four decades, until her retirement in 1980.

Building Samson V
Samson V was built by Mercer's Star Shipyard for $63,000. She was virtually identical to Samson IV (also launched from Mercer's in 1924), except for her bow, which was construed as a "shovel" type instead of a straightforward flat scow-bow. The shovel bow gave the vessel better steering characteristics.

Many components of the engines that powered Samsons III, IV, and V, the crank and paddlewheel shaft, and the steel that supported the paddlewheel all dated from Samson II of 1905. The steel knees that support the A-frame and the rest of the A-frame hardware also go back at least as far as Samson III of 1914.

However, Samson V is unique in some respects. She has six rudders: four main and two monkey. The monkey rudders (which are suspended from the monkey beam aft of the paddlewheel) enable Samson V to move in a circle and give her more manoeuvrability than many tugboats.

Also, Samson V was built to be an exceptionally strong and long-lasting vessel, and approximately 100,000 board-feet of lumber went into her hull. All of her hull components were pre-cut and then pressure-treated with creosote. Because of this technique, Samson V's hull is still in good condition all these years after her launch. Read Samson V's technical details.

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Her Jobs
Samson V's first official duty was to attend the opening of the new Patullo Bridge on November 15, 1937, and though her primary tasks remained removing snags and deadheads that clogged the river, Samson V and her crew were called on for many extra jobs, such as repairing or repainting the buoys that mark the river channel.

Samson V was also available to help out in an emergency, and she provided much-needed assistance during the Fraser River flood in 1948.

Damaged by Fire
On December 31, 1954, a fire broke out while Samson V was moored. She suffered serious damage and had to be scuttled to avoid complete destruction. She was salvaged, towed to Star Shipyards, and overhauled.

While Samson V was out of commission for five years, her sister ship from Prince Rupert, S.S. Essington, took over the role of snagpuller on the Fraser River.

Samson V was rebuilt with a new superstructure, boiler and reconstructed machinery, and extensive repairs were made on her hull. Her Certificate of Registration was reissued in 1960 and she returned to work on the Fraser River for 20 more years.

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Her Retirement and What She's Doing Now
In October 1980, Samson V was retired for cost-cutting reasons. Though her hull was 43 years old, and other parts of her were more than 75 years old, her simple and durable machinery could still do the job. But it was costly to run the snagpuller. Fuel was expensive, as were the wages for the large crew needed to run her.

Responsibility for snag removal was transferred to the Debris Control Board (a government/forest industry organization), and independent collectors were contracted to remove logs and deadheads.

In December 1980, the Canadian Federal Government sold Samson V to the City of New Westminster in British Columbia for $1.00. The community considered many plans for the vessel, including converting her to a passenger-carrying tour vessel; however, to meet marine standards, much of the historical significance would have been destroyed. So, the decision was made to open Samson V as a Maritime Museum, and use her to display exhibits that reflect the Fraser River's history.

Today, mighty Samson V still earns her keep, moored at Westminster Quay in New Westminster, British Columbia. As a Museum, she teaches tourists, children and steam-buffs about the history of navigation on the Fraser River. She is a reminder of the importance of the Fraser River to the City of New Westminster, and is a surviving link between its past and its future.

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