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The fleet was based at Seattle’s Lake Union, in a space that today is occupied by a yacht
commissioning and repair facility. The vessels logged thousands of miles annually, running the Inside
Passage and working the waters of the Pacific, the Gulf of Alaska, Cook Inlet, and the Bering Sea.
During World War II, some of the boats were drafted to carry supplies and personnel to the distant
Aleutian Islands after Japan bombed Dutch Harbor and landed troops on the outer islands. Mounted
with machine guns, the vessels began a risky new career in the dangerous waters of the North Pacific
and the Bering Sea. After the war, some returned to fisheries patrol work, and others went on to
commercial activities.
