Directions for students:

There are so many ships on and docked at the Pier, how were

they used, how did they move around, and how can you tell?

Become a maritime detective and look for clues to figure out more

about what each ship was used for and who sailed on them.

You’ll work in groups, and each group will explore the ships

docked here, but in a different order, using these detective note-

book pages to help you.

At the end, when you gather back together, be ready to share how

you solved the mysteries.

Note to teachers:

This packet contains a series of reproducible trip sheets to help guide your students’

looking at the historic ships on Hyde Street Pier. By observing each ship’s form,

they will determine its function and compare and contrast the ships to learn more

about the maritime history of the San Francisco Bay.

We suggest you copy the worksheets, collating them in a different order for each

group of students who will be filling them out.

Each student group should be accompanied by an adult. Review Park Rules with

students.

Please provide clipboards or sturdy cardboard as a backing for writing and a pen-

cil or pen for each group of students.

After groups finish with their trip sheets, we suggest gathering students and having

them share their discoveries in front of each ship (see “Suggestions for end discus-

sion” that follows the trip sheets).

Write or draw some things you see on

the building in the space below that

make you think it’s a boat (HINT: Look

underneath!):

Walk up the stairs and walk inside.

What types of spaces do you see?

Draw or write about them here:

How many people do you think lived

here? (HINT: check for places to

sleep!) ______________________

Stand in front of this structure on

the right (east) side of the pier.

Is this a boat or a house?

Write or draw some things you see

on the building in the space below

that make you think it’s a house:

Draw or list things that are the same and different

between this house and your house:

Same Different Detectives’ conclusion:

Putting all the clues together, we think this struc-

ture was a : ___boat ____ house

We think so because ______________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

Stand at this spot on the right

(east) side of the pier.

Why do you think the archway is

so wide?____________________

___________________________

___________________________

Besides people, what else could fit

through the archway? __________

Walk through and archway and on-

to the ship.

Walk ahead. What do you see?

___________________________

Why would these be on the ship?

___________________________

Now walk up the stairs. What do

you see?

_________________________

_________________________

Draw or write what else people

could do on this ship (hint: look

around!)

Detectives’ conclusion:

Putting all the clues together, we think this ship was used for:

___________________________________________________

We think so because ______________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

Walk to the back of the ship. How

does it compare to the part where you

walked onto the ship?

___________________________

Why do you think there are stairs at

both ends?___________________

____________________________

Look around the ship for clues on how

it was powered. Draw or write about

that power source here:

Walk until you see this ship on the left

side of the pier.

Walk on board the ship and turn left.

Walk into the open doorway. What do

you think this space is? ___________

_______________________________

How many people do you think used this

space? ___________________

Walk back towards where you came on

board the ship.

Go below (walk downstairs) and look

around. Write or draw what this level

(called “below deck”) of the ship was

used for:

Walk back above deck (upstairs) and

look around. Write or draw three things

that happened on this level, called

“above deck.”

1.

2.

3.

Detectives’ conclusion:

Putting all the clues together, we think this ship was used for:

________________________________________________________________________________________

We think so because ______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Look around the ship for clues on how

it was powered. Draw or write about

that power source here:

Go to this ship docked on the right

(east) side of the pier.

If it’s possible, go on board the ship. If

it’s not possible, why do you think you

can’t? (HINT: look at the sign and the

way you get aboard!) _______________

________________________________

If you are on board, look around to

find out how this ship is powered and

draw write about it here:

If you are on board, what other kinds

of spaces are there on this ship? Draw

or write about what you see and how

these spaces were used:

Space How it was used

If you are not on board, fill out the Venn

diagram below to compare the outside of

this ship to the others you see around you

docked on the pier.

Things I notice about this ship

Things I notice about other ships around me

Things that are the same about both ships

Detectives’ conclusion:

Putting all the clues together, we think this ship was used for:

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

We think so because

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

____________________________________________

Two vessels left the Delaware River last week on what promises to be a mem-

orable as well as record-breaking voyage. They were the new sea-going tug-

boats Hercules and Goliah. They are bound for San Francisco via the Straits of

Magellan and what is unusual [is that] the Goliah is being towed by the Hercu-

les. - The Nautical Gazette, February 6, 1908

If you are not on board, this part of a newspaper

article gives more clues to this ship. Circle or under-

line words and phrases that are clues:

Choose one of these ships to look at (not

all of them may be here). You won’t be able

to go on board, so stand on the pier close

by.

How many people do you think could be on

the ship at one time? __________________

____________________________________

Write or draw a clue you see that tells you how

the ship was powered.

Look carefully at the ship for clues on what it

might have been used for (carrying cargo; car-

rying people; fishing).

Write or draw its use here:

Detectives’ conclusion:

Putting all the clues together, we think this ship was used for:

_______________________________________________________________________________________

We think so because ______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?74214-Feluccas

The Bay Ark is both a house AND a boat—it used to

float on the water near Tiburon in Marin County. A family

lived on it until about the 1960s. It was not really built to

move, more just to float!

The Eureka was a ferry between 1890 and 1941. It car-

ried people and cars and was a primary source of com-

muting between San Francisco and the “suburbs” of Sau-

salito and Berkeley. (See historic photo of the Hyde St

Pier, attached) It is powered by a paddlewheel turned by

a steam engine.

Teacher background information for end discussion

The tug Hercules (and its sister ship, the Goliah)

were among the last of a long line of East Coast steam-

ers that came West through the Straits of Magellan. This

tugboat was built to work in the ocean, with a very strong

engine and very skilled crew. Eventually Hercules was

confined to San Francisco Bay towing barges of goods

and raw materials that would be then be transported by

the railroad all over the West Coast. It is powered by a

steam engine.

The Balclutha carried first carried cargo (grain and

lumber) linking Europe and San Francisco and then

Australia and San Francisco. Eventually it served the

Salmon canneries in Alaska. It is powered by the sails

flying from its 3 masts.

Small craft owned by individuals

and used for fishing/recreation in-

clude the Alma, a felucca, and a

Chinese junk (l—r). They were

powered by sails.

The C.A. Thayer is a three-masted lumber schooner

that carried half of its cargo below deck and the rest

stacked high, above deck. At one point she also hauled

salt– salmon in barrels and was used as a codfishing

boat!

Teacher background information for end discussion

Suggestions for end discussion:

Gather students together in one group. It’s helpful to review each ship standing

in front of it. As you gather students in front of each ship, have them share their

answers to what the ship was used for and how they came to that conclusion.

You might want to review the clues—how the ships were powered, what were

they made of and how many people it took to run them. How they are powered

(sail, steam, etc) also has an effect on what job they did.

You may want to discuss how ship technologies changed, especially in how

they are powered. Before the opening of the Panama Canal (through Central

America) in 1914, ships had to navigate around the Straits of Magellan (at the

tip of South America) to get from East to West or West to East. Balclutha did

this many times! And Hercules helped build the Panama Canal by hauling cais-

sons (concrete structures used to build the canal locks).

Wrap up by asking students

What do all the different kinds of ships at the Hyde Street Pier suggest about

the history of San Francisco Bay and San Francisco Maritime history?

How did different cultures contribute to the maritime history of San Francisco

Bay?