The RCMP Schooner "St. Roch" – An Arctic Worker. The Birth of a Vessel
St. Roch in the Arctic
In December 2004, I was fortunate to visit the Vancouver Maritime Museum in British Columbia. Its main attraction is the carefully preserved Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) schooner St. Roch. This tiny vessel has forever entered into history, having passed through the Northwest Passage from west to east for the first time, and the second in the opposite direction (and for the first time in one navigation), and is the only vessel to have circumnavigated the entire North American continent.
The routes of the schooner "St. Roch" through the Northwest Passage in 1940-42 and 1944
The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was created by the government of the young Dominion of Canada in 1873. It was a paramilitary organization whose purpose was to establish law and order and protect the Dominion's national interests within its borders. As Canada expanded, the NWMP's area of responsibility shifted from the prairie regions to the Klondike gold rush, and then to the vast expanses of the Canadian Arctic.
In the Arctic, the "Mounties" had to address a wide range of challenges. They asserted Canadian sovereignty over the region, resisting territorial claims from several countries, combated foreign poachers who were predatory in the harvesting of whales and marine mammals, protected the interests of the local indigenous population—the Inuit, explored unexplored territories, fought crime, and provided medical care. In effect, the NWMP was the sole representative of the state in these territories. Beginning in 1903, permanent police outposts began to be established in the Arctic. To support their operations, the mounted police (who actually used sleds and dog sleds) periodically had to charter private vessels.
In 1919, the NWMP was transformed into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, with slightly different responsibilities. Nevertheless, the Arctic remained its area of interest. In 1927, a decision was made to build the RCMP its own vessel. It was intended to connect the four Arctic Mounted Police detachments scattered along the 2,000-kilometer coastline with the mainland and exercise government control there. During winter, the ice-bound vessel was planned to serve as a base for mobile patrols.
The design of the vessel was entrusted to Tom Halliday of Vancouver (a port city on the Pacific coast of Canada in the province of British Columbia) based on a specification developed by the Canadian Department of the Maritime fleetThe polar research vessel "Maud," which the renowned Norwegian polar explorer Richard Amundsen used to attempt to reach the North Pole in the first quarter of the 20th century, was chosen as the prototype. The federal government of Canada signed a contract for the construction of the new vessel with the Vancouver-based shipbuilder Burrard Dry Dock Company.
The vessel's design was completed on November 27, 1927, and it was soon laid down on the slipway located on the north shore of Burrard Inlet. Construction progressed quickly, and on May 7, 1928, the motor-sailing schooner, christened "St. Roch" (the parish in Eastern Quebec to which the then federal Minister of Justice belonged), was launched. The wife of the Vancouver RCMP chief served as godmother, breaking a bottle of champagne over the hull.
After completion and successful sea trials, the vessel was accepted by the customer on June 19 of that year. Although the St. Roch was not distinguished by its graceful lines or speed (only 8 knots), it was built soundly, suited to the harsh Arctic conditions. The main material for its hull was local Douglas fir. The architectural design of the hull was a two-island design with a forecastle and a poop deck. The vessel had the following main dimensions:
The greatest length - 37,5 m
The length between perpendiculars is 29 m
The greatest width - 9,6 m
Loaded draft: 3,9 m
Total Displacement - 323 t
Registered tonnage: 193,43 GRT, 80,60 NRT.
The double-beam frames have a cross-section ranging from 330 x 178 mm (floor) to 178 x 178 mm (at the upper futtock). The outer side planking was made of spruce boards approximately 70 mm thick, while the inner planking was made of 89 mm thick boards. One beam of each frame serves as a bulwark support. The hull is fastened with heavy-duty galvanized steel plates and bolts.
The keel, measuring 292 x 356 mm in cross-section, the stem (254 x 406 mm), and the sternpost (279 x 381 mm), as well as some other hull components, were made of a variety of Australian eucalyptus (ironbark, or Australian gumwood), noted for its exceptional hardness and resinous properties. The deck planking, made of spruce planks 76 mm thick and 165 mm wide, was fastened to the beams with galvanized screws. The exterior of the hull was sheathed with 38 mm thick eucalyptus planks to protect the spruce planking from ice damage. A small gap was left between these planks, allowing seawater to penetrate the spruce planking and preventing dry rot.
The rudder, also made of eucalyptus wood, could be lifted onto the deck through a special well for repair or replacement. A spare rudder was stored on deck. The bow of the vessel was sheathed with steel plates approximately 10 mm thick. To prevent the hull from collapsing under ice compression, it was given an egg-shaped form. This hull shape, along with the absence of bilge keels, contributed to sharp rolls and steep heel angles even in light seas.
Sailing the St. Roch in stormy weather was a serious challenge even for seasoned sailors. Additional compressive strength was provided by so-called "ice" beams, 292 mm thick, arranged at two heights, supporting the upper deck and bracing the sides near the cargo hold. Simple belowdeck beams are 140-178 mm thick. The space between the floors was filled with cement—a common shipbuilding practice of the time. Amidships, the cargo hold had a capacity of up to 150 tons and a hatch measuring 8 x 12 feet (2,44 x 3,66 m).
The St. Roch had the auxiliary rig of a two-masted gaff schooner with three sails: a fore sail of 830 square feet (about 77,1 m²), a main sail of 1185 square feet (110,1 m²), and a stay sail (or “jumbo”) of 420 square feet (39 m²). The foremast was approximately 17 meters high, and the mainmast was 19 meters. The standing rigging was steel, and the running rigging was hemp. An “ice bucket” for the lookout was suspended from the top of the mainmast.
In August 1944, during repairs at the Halifax Naval Shipyard, the ship was converted into a ketch: the mainmast was removed, and a 11,9-meter mizzenmast, capable of carrying a sail area of 32,1 square meters, was installed aft of the deckhouse. The crow's nest was moved to the foremast.
St. Roch in 1928
St. Roch in 1944
Cross-section of the hull of the St. Roch
St. Roch in 1944
During the ship's service, its paint scheme has changed several times, and currently the schooner is painted according to the 1944 scheme: the above-water part of the hull is dark ball with black trim, the underwater part is red, and the deck is ocher.
From 1928 to 43, the St. Roch's main engine was a six-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine producing 150 hp at 340 rpm. It was manufactured by the American Union Diesel Engine Company (Oakland, California). The propeller shaft was connected to the engine via a disengaging clutch, which allowed the propeller to rotate freely when under sail and the engine stopped, thereby reducing drag. The propeller was bronze, three-bladed, with a diameter of 1473 mm and a pitch of 889 mm (in 1945, it was replaced with a four-bladed unit, but due to severe vibration, a three-bladed unit was reinstalled).
Loading the main engine, 1928.
An 8-horsepower Union gasoline engine powered the 2,2-kW generator, bilge/fire pump, and air compressor. During long polar winters, fuel conservation was necessary, and this engine was used primarily to power the radio, while kerosene lamps were used for lighting. In 1940, during preparations for the Northwest Passage, a new 18-horsepower Russell Newbury auxiliary diesel engine was installed, along with a 56 x 1,5-volt battery to provide lighting and radio operation when the engine was stopped.
In 1944, a new main engine produced by Union Diesel was installed - a six-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine with a power of 300 hp at 350 rpm, weighing 18 tons and a cylinder diameter of 279,4 mm.
The total capacity of diesel fuel, stored in seven fuel tanks, was 6950 gallons (approximately 26,3 m³), while gasoline for the auxiliary engine was stored in a 150-gallon (0,57 m³) tank. In 1944, two more diesel fuel tanks were installed in the stern of the ship. Since daily fuel consumption while underway reached one ton, an additional supply was required, which was usually stored in barrels on the upper deck and in the hold, as well as on the shores of the western sector of the Canadian Arctic (up to 140 tons), where the St. Roch primarily served. A thousand-gallon (approximately 3,8 m³) fresh water tank was located in the hold under the forecastle, although during long winters, ice became the main source of fresh water.
The anchoring system consisted of two mechanically powered windlasses mounted on the main deck (later removed) and forecastle (they also served for cargo handling and towing the ship in ice), three bow anchors (two bow anchors weighing 370 kg each and a stern anchor weighing 100 kg), and two ice anchors. A stop anchor weighing approximately 320 kilograms was later added.
The St. Roch was originally equipped with two 18-foot rowboats and a 20-foot motorboat, later supplemented by two 12-foot pontoons and a 20-foot square-ended pontoon for cargo handling, stored on the main deck on the cargo hold cover.
Upon completion, the schooner had living quarters for 13 people and a crew of 10. They were housed in the forward forecastle (6 people) and the stern. Captain G. Larsen recalled: "The St. Roch was and remains the most uncomfortable ship I have ever encountered."
The forward quarters were equipped with six bunks, lockers for personal belongings, a table, and a "Viking Quebec stove Number 12"—a coal-fired stove (similar to our "potbelly stove") for heating and drying clothes. In this tiny space, accompanied by the constant sound of waves crashing against the ship's bow and the crashing and grinding of ice, the sea police officers sometimes spent years!
Aft, below the main deck, was a four-berth cabin with four bunks, storage lockers underneath, sofas, and a folding table; a radio operator's cabin equipped with a 50-watt shortwave and 100-watt longwave Marconi transmitter; a galley with a coal-fired stove; a latrine; and a provisions store. The sick bay also served as the boatswain's storeroom. A small aft deckhouse housed the pilothouse and the captain's cabin with a latrine.
Ship radio station, 1930-1933.
The design of the wheelhouse proved extremely poor: visibility was poor, and the helmsman often had to rely solely on signals from the lookout in the crow's nest. Furthermore, it leaked like a sieve, and its planking quickly began to warp. In 1930, a slightly larger wheelhouse was installed, housing the radio room, and an officers' quarters was placed behind the captain's cabin. In 1935, an open bridge was installed on the roof of the wheelhouse, along with an engine room telegraph. Previously, engine room commands were given by bell, which often led to misunderstandings, especially when the ship had to break through ice and the signal bell rang out of tune.
Wheelhouse
During the 1944 refit and modernization, the ship's aft section underwent radical changes. A new superstructure was built on the poop deck, with a pilothouse and an open bridge above, providing excellent visibility. The new superstructure housed the captain's and his assistants' cabins, the chief engineer's cabin, a radio room, a galley with a new diesel-fueled stove, and a wardroom. The St. Roch could now accommodate 15 people, although during the famous 1944 voyage, she had only managed to accommodate 19.
The aft spaces below the main deck were now occupied by a large provisions storeroom, additional fuel tanks, batteries, and an important innovation—a gyrocompass. Previously, the schooner was equipped only with a magnetic compass, which created significant difficulties when navigating in high latitudes.
During sea trials
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