Shaver Transportation Company - Design Innovations

Design Innovations

Shaver steamboats were all sternwheelers, which gave advantages on the Columbia River. They did not require fixed docks for landings, and they were more powerful and easier to steer than sidewheelers. Traditionally, most steamboats on the Columbia River system were sternwheelers. Shaver Transportation broke away from this pattern in 1926 when Shaver was rebuilt as a twin-screw diesel boat. Shaver served in this configuration for about twenty years. One notable tow job was of the USS Constitution when that vessel was taken on tour to the West Coast, including Portland, in 1934.

Another important tow job engaged in by Shaver and four other vessels was pulling the Standard Oil Tanker "F.S. Follis" off where the tanker had grounded near the mouth of the Willamette River. The plans for the rebuilt Shaver were later used by the Marietta Iron Works (in Marietta, Ohio) to build a vessel which became the pattern for later towboats on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.