Photo of the Week
May 14, 2023

Following scouts in the Canal Zone, this week's photo is a grand one of the Sea Scout Ship No. 8, the SS Barracuda.  I was quite pleased to find this old photo as it brought back memories of a study that I did back in 2001.  I had found a few other photos of this huge barge and I thought it might have been the remains of the old suction dredge Las Cruces.  I had a bunch of back and fourths with some of my old timer friends asking a million questions and the final solution was Don Boland's note back to me, shown below.  Those other photos (below) that I had are in pretty bad shape and didn't have the detail this this one does showing that for sure this was an old barge refitted for the use that Don explains and not the hull of an old dredge.  There isn't much more information about this old barge, but I am sure it went to a watery grave beyond the Pacific anchorage in the end. Another Canal Zone piece of history and thank to Don and this photo, that history is partially preserved now.

Don Boland writes:

It was down near the Dredging Division in Diablo, and I was a member from about 1947, probably until about 1951. 
I can't give you an authoritative answer as to it's history. What I recall, I obtained by word-of-mouth, over 50 years ago. It was a barge, I'm guessing 80' long, 26-28' beam, and it had three decks. The story that I recall is that it was used earlier, and I don't know how much, at anchorage out in the bay, and some of the men (Custom, Immigration, etc.) that boarded the transiting ships, would be taken out there to await transiting ships. When it was no longer used, don't know if it was after a change in procedures, or what, it was declared surplus and somehow the Sea Scout Ship 8 acquired it. In the hold (bottom) there had been a shop, and I believe a good bit of storage area. On the main deck there was a good sized meeting area, a galley (although that may have been in the lower level), but I don't recall what was in the rear half of the main deck. On the top deck in the bow, our Skipper and his wife had their living quarters. As I recall he worked for FAA although I'm not sure. Behind that there was a row of rooms on either side of the center hall. Generally there were two of us assigned to each room, which was equipped with bunk beds. Rooms were not much larger than was required for the bunk beds. Quite often we spent the weekends there, either fishing, or probably just as often, heading out for a night on the town. Since you had to be 16 to join, and at the same age we could get our operators license for the old Cushman scooters, there were several of us ride halfway through the night, or go out with our girlfriends. 

DonB BHS49