Harbor History Museum houses ship from Gig Harbor's fishing past

After becoming derelict, the Avalon fishing boat was saved by the Gig Harbor BoatShop and parts of its history will be featured in the Harbor History Museum starting this month.

In partnership with Skansie Netshed Foundation and Harbor WildWatch, “Salmon, Seiners, and Life on the Sea” will not only feature the story of the Avalon as typical of many early purse seiners in the area, it will explore the past and present of Puget Sound’s salmon fisheries and generations of fishing families and fishing towns along Northwest shores, a museum press release said.

“Salmon, Seiners, and Life on the Sea” will be on view May 27 through Sept. 16 at the Harbor History Museum, 4121 Harborview Drive, Gig Harbor.

“In 1929, the Skansie Ship Building Company in Gig Harbor launched the Avalon, a 66-foot wooden purse seiner,” the press release said. “It was one in a long line of the family’s boat building tradition, and was fished first by Andrew Skansie then later by his sons Antone and Vince Skansie. The Skansies fished the boat for more than six decades, traveling from Gig Harbor to the salmon fisheries along the Northwest Coast. Moored at the Skansie’s net shed, located in the center of town, the boat was a Gig Harbor icon along with other well-known seiners such as the Genius, Victory, Veteran and Shenandoah.”

In 2015, after sinking in Hood Canal, the Avalon was declared derelict and scheduled for demolition. The BoatShop partnered with the Department of Natural Resources to save Avalon from the wrecking ball and instead went ahead with the vessel’s deconstruction. This process allowed the BoatShop to recover artifacts that will be featured in the exhibit, the press release stated, including the Avalon’s iconic wheelhouse which was salvaged and restored at the BoatShop and will serve as the centerpiece of the exhibit. Along with the Avalon wheelhouse, the exhibit will feature a brief history of the Skansie Ship Building Company as well as a “Story Skiff”, a scaled-down version of a seine skiff that would have been used to set the net. The Story Skiff was built by BoatShop Volunteer Bill Isaacs from historic plans from Whatcom Museum’s H.C. Hanson Collection, according to the press release.

Visitors will also be able to view wall-sized plans of the Avalon and artifacts keyed to their original location on the boat.

“From boats to nets to fishing communities around Puget Sound, visitors will discover the who behind the fish on their table,” the press release stated.

The Fishing Life and Sustainable Fisheries portion of the exhibit will feature key innovations that impacted the fishing industry. Stretched from Wheelhouse to Story Skiff is a representation of a seine net that shows the different types of salmon caught in Northwest waters. Also featured in the exhibit is a map of various fisheries and tips for what we can do to help save the salmon.

“Salmon, Seiners, and Life on the Sea”

Runs: May 27 through Sept. 16

Where: Harbor History Museum, 4121 Harborview Dr., Gig Harbor.

This story was originally published May 25, 2018 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Harbor History Museum houses ship from Gig Harbor's fishing past."