In 1927, the Key Transit Company in San Francisco builds the ferry Peralta, whose hull was later used to build the Kalakala. A unique feature of the ferry is built-in trimming tanks located at each end of the vessel. When passengers congregated on the bow during docking, the aft tanks could be filled with water, thereby keeping the vessel on an even keel. At her launch, the Peralta got stuck on the ways – the shipyard launching ramp. Many seafarers consider this a jinx.
Ferry Peralta (later rebuilt as the Kalakala) is built in San Francisco in 1927.
- By Alan J. Stein
- Posted 11/10/1998
- HistoryLink.org Essay 316
Sources:
Mary S. Kline and G. A. Bayless, Ferryboats: A Legend on Puget Sound (Seattle: Bayless Books, 1983), 229-247.
Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.
