''Seizer'' was a wooden-hulled,

stern-wheel A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...

steamship that served as the first snagboat for the United States Army Corps of Engineers on the Sacramento River.

History

''Seizer'' was a stern-wheeled, shallow draft steamship ordered by the U.S. Engineers Department of the Army (now known as the United States Army Corps of Engineers) to serve as the first snagboat on the Sacramento, the Mokelumne, and the San Joaquin Rivers. She was built in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

in 1881 and outfitted with a wood-fueled steam boiler which enabled her to cruise at a speed of 6-7 knots. The ship was painted white with a red line and a mahogany smoke stake. She was captained by Captain "Rush" Fisher of Missouri and carried a crew of 33 men. The crew included divers from Hawaii who were able swimmers and capable of entering the muddy waters to attach chains to sunken trees. In 1895, she overhauled and fitted to burn coal. By 1919, she was using oil as a fuel. In 1908 she was joined by a snag scow, ''Tackle'' (30 GRT, 64 x 28 x 3.5), which was designed to operate in much shallower waters. She retired in 1921 after the completion of her replacement, ''Bear'' (242 GRT), and was converted into a quarter boat. Her steam engine was utilized in the snagboat ''Yuba'' (410 GRT) built in 1925.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seizer snagboat 1881 ships Ships built in Stockton, California Stern-wheel steamboats of California Snagboats of the United States