Eastern Mojave Vegetation Information board about the Bowpicker Caf e.  
 

 

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If you have a question or a comment about this photograph you may write to me at: tomas@schweich.com I sometimes post interesting questions in my FAQ, but I never disclose your full name or address. 		  Astoria, Clatsop County, Oregon
Photograph taken 18 Sept 2009.

You are standing next to what was known as the Columbia River Bowpicker. These boats were 28 feet in length. They were planked with Port Orford cedar, oak frames, and Douglas fir cabin and deck. These boats evolved from double-ended boats from the 1870's that used sails as their power source.

By the 1920's all boats were powered by 6 to 10 hp single piston engines. By the 1940's and 1950's these boats became the modern version you see here: square stern and powered by V8 marine engines. During this period, there were hundreds of these boats anywhere on the Columbia River.

The Bowpickers fished for salmon and sturgeon on the Columbia and other waters in the Northwest. They employed long floating gillnets, humdreds of feet in length, that were retrieved from the bow of the boat. The fish were then picked out of the net, thus the name Bowpicker.

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Date and time this page was prepared: 1/5/2025 2:38:33 PM