Uncatena (steamboat)

The "Uncatena" was a sidewheel steamer operating as a ferry serving the island of Martha's Vineyard during the beginning of the twentieth century.

The "Uncatena" was built in Wilmington, DE in 1902, and named after Uncatena Island, one of the Elizabeth Islands. It was 652 tons. [Banks, Charles E., "The History of Martha's Vineyard, Mass., Volume I". (Dukes County Historical Society, 1911)] It started service immediately to Martha's Vineyard for the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamboat Co. [ [http://www.mvgazette.com/commentary/gazette_chronicle/?document=19061200_100_years_ago Vineyard Gazette Online ] ] It was the first steamer serving the island built with a steel hull, [ [http://www.mvgazette.com/commentary/gazette_chronicle/?document=19610600_steamboat_days Vineyard Gazette Online ] ] and the first with a propellor. [ [http://www.mvgazette.com/commentary/gazette_chronicle/?document=19800400_25_years_ago Vineyard Gazette Online ] ] The paddles were housed in the superstructure, and an outline of the paddlebox appeared on its sides. [ [http://www.mvgazette.com/commentary/gazette_chronicle/?document=19610600_steamboat_days Vineyard Gazette Online ] ]

The Vineyard Gazette wrote in June 1961::"The Uncatena, built in 1902, was 187 feet long, and had a 31-foot beam. An innovation in her construction was the placing of her shaft low enough so that passengers, boarding the boat by way of the freight deck as was often necessary, walked over it on an incline. On the older boats they had to duck their heads and pass under the shaft. She had a guaranteed speed of 15 miles an hour, and she often showed her heels to other boats of the line. The Uncatena was the only sidewheeler of the Island line to have a poem, written to her and about her by the Pulitzer Prize poet, Robert Hillyer, in 1948. The title of this nostalgic poem was In Memoriam Sidewheeler Uncatena, and it was aboard the Uncatena that Mr. Hillyer, lifelong lover of the Island, first came to the Vineyard in the early years of this century." [ [http://www.mvgazette.com/commentary/gazette_chronicle/?document=19610600_steamboat_days Vineyard Gazette Online ] ]

Capt. Marshall (evidently Francis J. Marshall (1857-1933) of Edgartown [ [http://history.vineyard.net/mvpgp/marshall.htm Notes on the Marshall Families of Martha's Vineyard, Mass ] ] ) and Capt. Sylvia were both masters of the "Uncatena" [ [http://www.mvgazette.com/commentary/gazette_chronicle/?document=19630500_winters_past Vineyard Gazette Online ] ]

The "Uncatena" was retired from service in 1928, after 26 years of operation. ["The Dukes County Intelligencer". Vol. 24, No. 4. May 1983]

Notes

References

* Banks, Charles E., "The History of Martha's Vineyard, Mass., Volume I". (Dukes County Historical Society, 1911)

* [http://www.mvgazette.com/commentary/gazette_chronicle/?document=19061200_100_years_ago] - reprint of a 1906 article in the Vineyard Gazette

* [http://www.mvgazette.com/commentary/gazette_chronicle/?document=19800400_25_years_ago] - reprint of a 1980 article in the Vineyard Gazette

* [http://www.mvgazette.com/commentary/gazette_chronicle/?document=19610600_steamboat_days] - reprint of a 1961 article in the Vineyard Gazette

* [http://history.vineyard.net/mvpgp/marshall.htm] - The Marshall Family of Martha's Vineyard

* [http://www.mvgazette.com/commentary/gazette_chronicle/?document=19630500_winters_past] - reprint of a 1963 article in the Vineyard Gazette