J. Marhoffer
Steam Schooner · United States · Lost 1910 · The Columbia River Bar & Oregon Coast
A wooden steam schooner destroyed by an engine-room explosion in 1910, whose boiler still lies jammed in the rocks at the Oregon cove that now bears its name.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in 1907 for the coastal lumber trade, J. Marhoffer caught fire on May 18, 1910, when an assistant engineer's gasoline torch exploded in the engine room. With her engine jammed at full speed and the crew unable to reach the controls, the burning ship ran out of control into a small Oregon cove and was destroyed. All 20 crew members and the captain's wife escaped safely, and the ship's boiler remains lodged in the cove's bedrock today, giving the site its name: Boiler Bay.
Vessel
- 1907
- Lindstrom Shipbuilding Company
- Aberdeen, Washington
- Wood
- 180 ft
- 38 ft
- Not established
- Steam
- Olson & Mahony Company
Loss
- May 18, 1910
- Fire
- Boiler Bay, near Depoe Bay, Oregon
- Pacific Ocean
- San Francisco, California → Portland, Oregon
- Not established
- 22
- 0
- Captain Gustav Peterson
The Wreck Today
- 0 ft
- Boiler remains embedded in the bedrock of the cove, visible at low tide
- Not established
- Not established
- Within Boiler Bay State Scenic Viewpoint
Position
- 44.83° N 124.06° W
- Approximate position
- Boiler Bay, near Depoe Bay, Oregon
Position approximates Boiler Bay.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Build details, voyage, fire, and loss narrative.
Beachconnection.net, Oregon coast history
Detailed narrative of the fire and crew's escape.
