Virginia V Specifications


Length: 125 feet on deck Beam (Width): 24 feet
Draft: 8 feet Tonnage: 99 Gross , 67 Net
Displacement (Weight): 150 tons Propeller: 75 inch diameter, 4-bladed

Built in 1922 by Matt Anderson in Maplewood, Washington, for the West Pass Transportation Company of Lisabeula, Vashon Island, Washington. Restored 1996-2002, with the final project completed winter 2005, and preserved by The Steamer Virginia V Foundation.

The Engine & Steam Plant


The Engine

The Boiler (“Steam Plant”)
Steam Engine Type: Triple-Expansion Double-Acting Reciprocating Boiler: Babcock & Wilcox Watertube Boiler
10,000 lbs/hr steam @ 200 psi working pressure
Indicated Horsepower: 400
Built in the U.S.A. in 2000, re-certified annually by the U.S. Coast Guard for use in a passenger boat
Maximum RPM: Approximately 200
Cylinder Bore (Diameter): 10 1/2 inches, 16 3/4 inches, and 28.5 inches (HP, IP, and LP respectively) Diesel oil fired, burns about 30-50 gallons / hour of fuel
Piston Stroke: 18 inches The boiler was always oil-fired, although cord wood was stoked into the firebox to get the steam up when the boiler was cold. Once the boiler was heated, the oil burner was engaged.
Year Built: 1898 in Pioneer Square, Seattle, WA

The Virginia V’s engine is one of two identical steam engines built by Heffernan Iron Works for the U.S. Government. One was accepted and installed in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Steamer Evan Thomas, and the other was sold in 1904 to the Lorenz Brothers for the Tyrus, later renamed Virginia IV. After the Virginia V was launched, the brand new hull was towed to to the King Street Drydock in Seattle where on April 2, 1922, the engine, boiler and condenser were transferred from the Virginia IV to the Virginia V.

(The Virginia IV sank that night because the loose engine mount bolts allowed water to fill the hull. Six months later she was raised, and sold to Canoe Pass Packing Company. They re-powered her with a diesel engine and used her as a cannery tender)
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The mission of The Steamer Virginia V Foundation is to promote the Puget Sound's maritime heritage through the restoration,
preservation, operation, and interpretation of the National Historic Landmark vessel S.S. Virginia V.