Al Litchfield

Received documents about the Mission Transport and Refining Company. They were not overly helpful. An interesting fact was that they incorporated in 1901 and was disoluted in 1908. Yet ownership of the Fullerton is listed as Mission Transport and Refining Company up to the time of its wreck in 1927 near Redondo Beach. Disolution document is one page with no mention of asset dispersal, etc. I am slowly going through newpaper archives and shipping news clips trying to build what I can of a ship's log. One thing I did discover was there was a "mutiny" on board in 1909. The entire crew was replaced.

Thank you, Roger, for your insights. I had tried to contact "The National Maritime Museum" in San Francisco. However, the inquiries were related on to the National Park Service which I have come to the conclusion is not too interested in archives but in visitors and attractions for the masses. As to the Mission Transport and Refining Company, I was able to discover some company records were available through the California State Archives. I have ordered copies and am awaiting their delivery from California to Canada. It will be interesting to see what they may contain. I have continued to research Hay and Wright. Their company name shows up occassionally in lists of ship builders located in Alameda. Other than those, I am running into a "sea wall" with little more information. I thought there should be some archival information such as ship plans, pictures, etc. but so far I am coming up empty.

Hawaii archives are not digitized so only able to personally view them. Unfortunately, I am unable to travel to Hawaii as much as I would like to.

Did some more research yesterday. As I searched the Lloyd's Of London archives, I found the following: 1. Built by Hay & Wright ship builder of Alameda, California. Launched in 1902. 2. Owned by Mission Transport & Refining Co. 3. Registered with Lloyds from 1902-1926 4, Registered in Los Angelos (1902-1910) and San Francisco (1911-1926) 5. Captained over the years by 5 different masters: McDonald (2 yrs), McInnis (4 /5), Kitchin (5/6), Scheller (7/8), Walker (5/6) I am not sure where to find archives from Hay & Wright. Any suggestions? Also, I can't find any info on Mission Transport & Refining Company. Any assistance would be most helpful. I have requested any info available from Hawaii Archives so will await their response.

Checked Seawatch Books for Napier's book. They are charging the same $US 75.00 for ebook or printed version. Converted to Canadian the price is over $100. Thought ebooks should be somewhat less expensive but not in this case.

I would love to be in a position to get Napier's book. However, as I live in Canada, by the time I pay exchange on the US$, the trans-border shipping fees, and import duties, price is almost doubled. Just not in my budget as a pensioner. Basically, all my information to go through the restorartion will come through on-line research and "partners in crime" on sites such as this, for which I am most thankful. Bookstores here in Canada which might be considered catering to special interests are very rare, publishers are even rarer. Any thoughts on the sails? As to removing the small deck chips, dust, etc., I am considering a venturi setup to minimize the suction.

Thanks, folks. I have dealt with antique laquered paper before but this is not the same. The plank lines are not surface but seem to be just under some kind of coating. It appears almost like an acrylic but that would be too new. Another question I have is the sails. They are not in the best of shape but I would rather try to restore rather than replace if possible. I am still trying to research where and by who the keel was laid as well as her fate. It appears that at some point she became a towed barge as one of the court cases records her as being under tow from California to Hawaii. The picture showing all her rigging appears to indicate her sails were removed. Any ideas as to where I might possibly look for any ship's logs, etc.

My apologies for the delay in posting. My wife's health is not the best so was helping here somewhat. Just received some original pictures of the Fullerton from the Union Oil archives. Also here are some pics of the model and one of the deck.

Thanks, VitusBering. Hadn't come across that acronym before.

History and info found to date: 1. The Fullerton was a four masted barkentine purchased by Union Oil to ship oil from Los Angeles to the Hawaiian Islands. Still trying to find actual date, etc. of where her keel was laid and who built her. Her maiden voyage was on April 13, 1902 with a load of 16,000 barrels of oil stored in 16 wooden tanks according to a L.A. Herald article of that date which includes a fairly good description of her vitals at that time. Length of 170 ft, beam of 42.5, depth of 21 ft, displacement of 1600 tons. Her first captain was a Captain McDonald. There is a record of a court case involving the first officer who was injured while the Fullerton was under tow by a steamer on December 21, 1906 on a trip to Hawaii. The court records show her with a gross tonnage according to the "government register" of 1554 tons and net of 1494. Another court action took place as the result of a collision while anchored during a fog with a passing ferryboat on December 13, 1909. Court documents indicate her length at 235 ft. (possibly including bowspirit???). The case was before the courts for about 5 years before settled in the Fullerton's favour by the US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit. Union Oil is not mentioned in either of these case documents so not sure if they still owned her at the time. While I have found some similar looking photographs of a 4 masted barkentine, an actual photo of the Fullerton has eluded me thus far. I have found and requested an archive of several Union Oil documents which are available from UCal so will see what they come up with. Some other questions: 1. Where can I find some directions on how to make the rope ladders? Going to need a few so would like to make them myself. 2, The main deck is a full piece of brass plate which had deck painted on it which has lifted in patches. Should I try to just patch or completely remove the paint to repaint? 3. Does anyone know who the "government register" mentioned in one of the court cases might refer to and where to possible contact them?

My apologies, jaager. Who are HAMMS and S.I. ?

Just another quick question. How and where do I start a log? Is it through the website or just on my own?

A big thank you to VitusBering. Using several search machines, I have come up with some history and documents on this ship. Still trying to find where she may have been built but the journey is just getting more interesting. I will definitely start a log to record what I find. Sorry, not sure why the above is in boldface. Tried to change it but no go.

I was recently "gifted" with a ship model with the hope I would be able to do some restoration on it which as can be seen is rather extensive. As far as I can determine, it is about 40+ years old. I have tried searching for something similar but without success. It measures about 36" in length and about 24" from keel to top of the masts. The name plate on the four-masted is "Fullerton." The square sails on the foremast and triangular on the other three masts is a setup I have not seen before. if anyone has some clues to offer about this model, I would certainly be most appreciative.