View source for Nowitka

{|{{Infobox Ship Begin}}
{{Infobox Ship Image
|Ship image=Nowitka (sternwheeler) loading at Golden, BC for first river trip 1911.JPG
|Ship caption=''Nowitka'' loading at [[Golden, British Columbia|Golden, BC]] for first commercial trip on Columbia River, 1911.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship name=''Nowitka'' (CAN #130604<ref name = Affleck>Affleck, Edward L., ''A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska'', at 57, Alexander Nicholls Press, Vancouver, BC 2000 {{ISBN|0-920034-08-X}}</ref>)
|Ship owner=Golden Columbia River Lumber Company
|Ship operator=
|Ship registry=[[Golden, British Columbia|Golden, BC]]
|Ship route=Inland [[British Columbia]] on the [[Columbia River]] in the [[Columbia Valley]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=George Rury<ref name = McCurdy>McCurdy, H.W., ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', at 191, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1966</ref>
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=1911 at [[Golden, British Columbia|Golden, BC]]
|Ship built=
|Ship christened=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=May 1920
|Ship identification=
|Ship fate=Abandoned 1920
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox Ship Characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=Inland passenger/freighter
|Ship tonnage=113 gross tons; 62 registered tons
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{convert|80.5|ft|m|0|lk=on|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|19|ft|m|0|lk=on|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft=
|Ship depth={{convert|3.5|ft|m|0|lk=on|abbr=on}} depth of hold
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship sail plan
|Ship power=twin [[steam engine]]s, horizontally mounted, 8" bore by 30" stroke, 2 nominal [[horsepower]], manufactured 1840 by G.A. Ponbriand, [[Sorel, Quebec|Sorel, Que.]]
|Ship propulsion=sternwheel
|Ship speed=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship crew=
|Ship notes=Engines were over 70 years old when installed.  Some of upperworks came from [[North Star (sternwheeler 1897)|''North Star'']]
}}
|}
'''''Nowitka''''' was a sternwheel steamboat that operated in [[British Columbia]] on the [[Columbia River]] from 1911 to May 1920.   The name is a Chinook Jargon word usually translated as "Indeed!" or "Verily!".
==Design and construction==
[[Image:Sternwheelers at Athalmer, BC ca 1913.JPG|thumb|left|''Nowitka'' on right, [[Klahowya (sternwheeler)|''Klahowya'']] center, and [[Isabella McCormack (sternwheeler)|''Isabella McCormack'']] (converted to houseboat), on left, at [[Althalmer, British Columbia|Althalmer, BC]] ca 1913]]
''Nowitka'' was built at [[Golden, British Columbia|Golden, BC]] for the Golden Columbia River Lumber Company.  ''Nowitka'''s engines were over 70 years old, and had been originally built for a ferry crossing the [[St. Lawrence River]].  The engines had been previously installed in other sternwheelers on the upper Columbia River, including the first [[Duchess (sternwheeler 1886)|''Duchess'']], the second [[Duchess (sternwheeler 1888)|''Duchess'']] and [[Ptarmigan (sternwheeler)|''Ptarmigan'']].<ref name = McCurdy/>  The blunt-ended bow of ''Nowitka'' allowed the vessel to be readily capable of pushing barges, which increased the vessel's utility and effective cargo capacity.<ref name = Affleck/><ref name = Downs>Downs, Art, ''Paddlewheels on the Frontier -- The Story of British Columbia and Yukon Sternwheel Steamers'', at 101-112, Superior Publishing, Seattle WA 1972</ref>
==Operations==
[[Image:Nowitka (sternwheeler) unloading at Edgewater, BC 1914.JPG|thumb|left|''Nowitka'' and barge unloading construction supplies at landing at [[Edgewater, British Columbia|Edgewater, BC]], ca 1914]]
''Nowitka'' was placed on the [[Columbia River]] route that began at Golden and ran south, at least during high water, to [[Columbia Lake]], the ultimate source of the Columbia River.  ''Nowitka'' was last used to haul supplies to construct a bridge at [[Brisco, British Columbia|Brisco, BC]].<ref name = Affleck/><ref name = Downs/>
==Removal from service==
Following construction of the bridge at Brisco, ''Nowitka'' was taken out of service in May 1920, and abandoned near the sawmill wharf at Golden.  ''Nowitka'' was the last steamboat to operate on the Columbia River in the Columbia Valley, although gasoline and diesel powered vessels did run later on the river.<ref name = Affleck/><ref name = Downs/>
==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
{{commons category|Nowitka (ship, 1911)}}
* Faber, Jim, ''Steamer's Wake—Voyaging down the old marine highways of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River'', Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985 {{ISBN|0-9615811-0-7}}
* Timmen, Fritz, ''Blow for the Landing'', 75-78, 134, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, ID 1972 {{ISBN|0-87004-221-1}}
{{Steamboats Columbia River headwaters}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nowitka (Sternwheeler)}}
[[Category:Paddle steamers of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Steamboats of the Columbia River]]
[[Category:Columbia Valley]]
[[Category:1911 ships]]