Built as a passenger- cargo vessel under yard No 42 by Los Angles Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, San Pedro for the Wilmington Transport Co.
26 December 1923 laid down.
03 May 1924 launched as the CATALINA, christened by Miss Marcia A. Patrick.
Tonnage 2,479 gross, dim.301.7 x 52.1 x 16.1ft., draught, length bpp. 285.2ft.
Powered by two oil-fired triple expansion steam engines, manufactured by Hooven-Owens-Rentschler Co., Hamilton, Ohio. Each 2,000 hp, speed 15.5 knots.
June 1924 completed, building cost $1 million USA Dollar.
30 June 1924 maiden voyage under command of Capt. A.A. Moris from Wilmington across the San Pedro Channel to Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. The crossing took around 2 hours.
The Island was bought by the William Wrigley, Jr of the Wrigley chewing gum; he was also the largest shareholder in the shipping company.
1936 She sank during fog the 76 foot yacht ARBUTUS.
25 August 1942 was she requested for military service, designated FS-99 and used as an army transport tender in San Francisco Bay, transporting more as 820,000 soldiers from shore to the waiting troopships in the bay.
15 April 1945 was she handed back to owners.
After a major refurbishment returned back to service between Wilmington and Avalon.
January 1948 the company changed her name to Catalina Island Steamship Line.
When union troubles increased the Wrigley family sold the Catalina Island Steamship Company to Charlie Stillwell shipping company M.G.R.S. a local harbour cruise owner in San Francisco.
From 1960 was she sailing under the flag of the M.G.R.S. Company Inc.
1965 The film “The Glass Bottom Boat” was made starring Doris Day partly on board the CATALINA.
In 1966 during a voyage a student riot broke out and the Coast Guard and Police had to be called to quell the fight.
1967 The CATALINA is featured in the film “Catalina Caper”.
During 1968 she did not sail due to labour disputes, while the Coast Guard required a crew of only 46, the unions demanding 65 crew on board.
1969 She sailed only from 15 June until 15 September.
1970 Charlie Stillwell was so fed up with the union troubles he sold the CATALINA to Carolyn Stanalan and members of her family.
When a new company started to compete with newer and faster ships it became very hard for the CATALINA to make a profit.
14 September 1975 she made her last trip it was her 9,807th crossing and when she tied up at 07.30pm at the San Pedro berth that was the end of her seagoing career.
The next 24 years she was twice sized by U.S. Marshals.
16 February 1977 she was sold during an auction for $70,000 to Hymie Singer, a Beverly Hills real estate developer, who bought the ship as a Valentine’s Day gift for his wife Ruth.
After some disastrous charters, she was moved from one place to an other place. To avoid docking expenses she was moved to Santa Monica Bay and anchored beyond the 3 mile limit. Declared a hazard for shipping she was towed to Long Beach harbor, where she was kept the next 5 years.
1983 There were plans to restore her, and after putting $1.5 million in the plan, it fell through.
After an extensive drydock renovation that led to noting, she returned to lay up.
She broke two times from her moorings in one month, and made unmanned cruises through the harbour, the last cruise almost hitting a loaded oil tanker.
The Coast Guard tried to seize the ship, but before the papers could be served, she was stolen by Gene Webber and towed away by a tug on 03 March 1985.
She anchored on an anchorage off Ensenada, Mexico, after a few months there she was seized in name by the Port Captain of Ensenada.
Hymie Singer acting for his wife was furious that his ship had been stolen twice and appealed to the Mexican Government, and sued Webber.
With lawsuit flying around, at least the CATALINA was allowed to enter the port of Ensenada; Singer hoping to save his ship got a partnership with Alejandro Marcin.
November 1987 the CATALINA was drydocked and hull cleaned and painted, also inside was many improvements made to refit her in a bar and grill restaurant.
25 June 1988 she was ready and during that summer she made a good profit for her owners.
But when Marcin disappeared in September with the deposits of the shopkeepers on board along with nearly $200,000 in refurbishment cost he had channelled back to his own account, things got worse.
The Singer’s first tried to keep her operational, but closed her in December.
The next seven years the Singer’s put more money in the ship, keeping her in good shape, always hoping to reopen the restaurant.
But when Hymie Singer died and Ruth had to take care of the ship, not interesting more in the ship with all her troubles she reverted the ownership of the CATALINA to 7 Mexican labourers who had claims for severance pay.
Just before Christmas 1997 water was seeping in through the propeller shaft packing’s, and while she was a dead ship without any power to use her pumps, she slowly sank by the stern.
There were plans by American ship lovers to salvage the ship and restore her to her old glory, but the plan failed, the Mexican port authorities decided then to scrap her, the work of scrapping her was underway in January 2009, finishing in late 2009 early 2010.
Mozambique 2009 175.00MT sgMS?, scott? (The other two vessels on the MS are the GREAT BRITAIN of 1843 and GREAT EASTERN of 1851 details and history of both ships go to the index.)
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Catalina. http://home.pacbell.net/steamer/CAT1st75.html