Monkey Island
S.S. Prospector

Larger sternwheelers carried more than 150 passengers. The upper “Texas” deck had better accommodation than the observation deck (the wheelhouse, on the uppermost level, was known as Monkey Island).

The schedules of sternwheelers with a high proportion of passengers were closely tied to the schedules of coastal vessels at Skagway; boats that carried mostly freight, like the S.S. Klondike I, were not.

“...three progressively smaller decks piled on the hull like the tiers of a wedding cake.”

Allan Wright, Yukon Chronicles Whitehorse Star, October 21, 1981

Accommodations were fairly basic on most sternwheelers, although the tourist boats were known for wonderful service and great food.

The larger upper river vessels carried 200-250 tons of cargo. The use of barges, introduced in 1905, almost doubled steamers’ cargo capacity, but it also increased fuel consumption and operating time by one half.

For ease of handling, freight was stored on the main deck, called the freight house. Sternwheelers transported everything from “acid, carbonic” to “zinc, in sheets or rolls”. When water levels were low and navigation more difficult, rates were higher to discourage people from shipping. In the summer the boats ran 24 hours a day.

Dining Room Check

Tourism

Long summer days and spectacular scenery made the Yukon a popular tourist destination, and tourism became an important part of BYN Co.’s business. The S.S. Tutshi, launched as a tourist boat in 1917, took passengers on excursions on the Southern Lakes.

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S.S. Yukoner

The interior of the “social hall” on the Alaska Commercial Company’s vessel, the S.S. Susie, a lower river boat.

Yukon Archives, U. of Alaska Archives photograph collection, #3107