Career Shipbuilder
Matthew Turner designed and built
Equator as a two-masted schooner in
Benicia,
California, in 1888 for the
copra trade in the
South Seas. In mid 1889,
Robert Louis Stevenson and
Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson chartered the Equator in Hawaii for extended South Pacific cruising. Robert Stevenson learned a lot about sea life from his voyage, which later influenced his books
Treasure Island and
The Wrecker.
Equator later was enlarged, and lost her
bowsprit when the Carey-Davis Company purchased her in 1915. She was then dry-docked at the 14th Street Fisherman's Boat Shop in Everett. By the late 1980s, Equator had been reduced to a crumbling hull and was moved to its present location at the corner of 10th Street and Craftsman Way. The Port of Everett took custody of
Equator and announced plans to dismantle her and reuse her timber for
public art and an interpretive exhibit. Several
nautical archeologists, including students from
Texas A&M University, began documenting the ship's remains in June 2023 while preparations for dismantling her were made.
Dismantled In September 2023, work began on dismantling and removing
Equator from her shelter. ==See also==