Employees of the Skansie Shipbuilding Company, in Gig Harbor, posed around a Fairbanks Morse engine intended for the "Defiance," the Pt. Defiance to Gig Harbor ferry which had been launched on January 16, 1927. By the mid 1920's, ferries were being designed to carry automobiles. The Skansie Brothers yard in Gig Harbor was one of the first to build the auto ferries. The "Defiance" had an 70-car capacity. Mitchell Skansie pioneered the use of diesel engines in ferries and the "Defiance" had a 360 hp engine which could travel with a speed of 10 knots. (Neal & Janus "Puget Sound Ferries") G66.1-091 (TNT 1-15-27, p. 14-article; TNT 1-17-27, p. 15-article)

Ferries--1920-1930; Skansies Shipbuilding Co. (Gig Harbor); Boat engines;