PORT ANGELES — If you’re interested in buying a 135-year-old wooden tugboat, the Port of Port Townsend has one it would like to sell you.
The Elmore, which has traversed the coasts of Alaska, Oregon and Washington as a fishing vessel, towboat, live aboard and a tug since 1890, is on the market.
It received a reprieve from likely demolition when port commissioners directed port staff on Dec. 18 to begin the process of selling the 150-foot, 60-ton vessel.
The port came into possession of the Elmore after its owner, who lived on board the vessel, died last February. In June, commissioners authorized its sale for a minimum bid of $10,000 at public auction to recover some of the $46,376 in unpaid yard fees that had accrued.
Although there was great interest in the old boat, no bidders stepped forward at the Aug. 8 sale. Ten days later, the port assumed title of the vessel.
The first step in selling the Elmore will be having it inspected, which is required under state law before it can be transferred to a new owner.
When it was towed into the marina at Boat Haven in February 2023, the Elmore had to be hauled out because it was leaking oil. It has been on the hard ever since.
“We’re looking to document the present condition of the vessel, the work that would need to be accomplished to return it to a seaworthy condition, the value of the vessel as it presently is at Boat Haven and then the estimated cost to return it to a seaworthy condition,” said Eric Toews, the port’s deputy director.
If the Elmore is determined to be unseaworthy, it can’t be sold unless it’s returned to seaworthy condition, which the port would have to do. Or it can be sold to someone who has the financial means to restore it — the more desirable scenario — or scrap it — the least desirable scenario.
The port needs to conduct due diligence for any buyer to ensure the person has the financial resources to support returning the Elmore to seaworthy condition and has the intention to do so.
“We’re not looking for a survey to tell us what would be necessary to restore it to perfect condition or a showboat,” Toews said.
“What we’re trying to avoid is that a vessel is not returned to the waters in an unseaworthy condition and creates an environmental liability or a hazard to navigation.”
In such a case, the port would have secondary liability.
There has been interest from buyers in Elmore’s 120-horsepower, four-cylinder Atlas-Imperial diesel engine and its wheelhouse, but the port wants to puts its efforts toward selling the entire vessel before it considers selling off its parts.
Demolishing the Elmore is still an option.
Toews said the state Department of Natural Resources has set aside $80,000 under its Derelict Vessel Removal Program to cover the cost of destruction and disposal. Those funds are available until June 30.
Port staff will put together a plan for marketing the Elmore and reach out to maritime museums and organizations to try to find a buyer.
The port is balancing realism and optimism when it comes to the future of the Elmore, Toews said.
“We’re hopeful, particularly with all the skilled trades people here at Boat Haven, that a potential benefactor might step forward,” Toews said. “We’re going to take a take a good run at it and make every effort to make that happen.”
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
