C . A . Thayer ( 1895 ) C . A . Thayer is a schooner built in 1895 near Eureka , California . The schooner is now preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park . She is one of the few survivors of the sailing schooners in the West coast lumber trade to San Francisco from Washington , Oregon , and Northern California . She was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 13 November 1966 . History . This ship is used for many class field trips , splitting students up into different crews such as Bosun , Galley , Rigger , Deckhand , and Boat crew . As a lumber schooner . " C . A . Thayer " was built by Danish - born Hans Ditlev Bendixsen in his shipyard , located across the narrows of Humboldt Bay from the city of Eureka in Northern California . She was named for Clarence A . Thayer , a partner in the San Francisco - based E . K . Wood Lumber Company . Between 1895 and 1912 , " C . A . Thayer " usually sailed from E . K . Wood ' s mill in Grays Harbor , Washington , to San Francisco . But she also carried lumber as far south as Mexico , and occasionally even ventured offshore to Hawaii and Fiji . " C . A . Thayer " is typical of the sort of three - masted schooners often used in the west coast lumber trade . She is in length and has a cargo capacity of . She carried about half of her load below deck , with the remaining lumber stacked high on deck . In port , her small crew of eight or nine men were also responsible for loading and unloading the ship . Unloading was an average day ' s work . With the increase in the use of steam power for the lumber trade , and after sustaining serious damage during a gale , " C . A . Thayer " was retired from the lumber trade in 1912 , and converted for use in the Alaskan salmon fishery . In the Alaskan salmon fishery . Early each April from 1912 to 1924 , " C . A . Thayer " sailed from San Francisco for Western Alaska . On board she carried gillnet boats , bundles of barrel staves , tons of salt , and a crew of fishermen and cannery workers . She then spent the summer anchored at a fishery camp such as Squaw Creek or Koggiung . While there , the fishermen worked their nets and the cannery workers packed the catch on shore . " C . A . Thayer " returned to San Francisco each September , carrying barrels of salted salmon . Vessels in the salt - salmon trade usually laid up during the winter months , but when World War I inflated freight rates , " C . A . Thayer " carried Northwest fir and Mendocino redwood to Australia . These off - season voyages took about two months each way . Her return cargo was usually coal , but sometimes hardwood or copra . As a cod fisherman . Between 1925 and 1930 , " C . A . Thayer " made yearly voyages from Poulsbo , Washington , to Alaska ' s Bering Sea cod - fishing waters . In addition to supplies , she carried upwards of thirty men north , including fourteen fishermen and twelve " dressers " ( the men who cleaned and cured the catch ) . At about 4 : 30am each day , the fishermen launched their Grand Banks dories over the rails , and then fished standing up , with handline s dropped over both sides of their small boats . When the fishing was good , a man might catch 300 - 350 cod in a five - hour period . After a decade - long , Depression - era lay - up in Lake Union , the U . S . Army purchased " C . A . Thayer " from J . E . Shields for use in the war effort . In 1942 , the Army removed her masts and used Thayer as an ammunition barge in British Columbia . After World War II , Shields bought his ship back from the Army , fitted her with masts once again , and returned her to codfishing . Her final voyage was in 1950 . Restoration . The State of California purchased " C . A . Thayer " in 1957 . After preliminary restoration in Seattle , Washington , a volunteer crew sailed her down the coast to San Francisco . The San Francisco Maritime Museum performed more extensive repairs and refitting , and opened " C . A . Thayer " to the public in 1963 . The vessel was transferred to the National Park Service in 1978 , and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1984 . After 40 years as a museum ship , " C . A . Thayer " has again been restored , a restoration which took three years from 2004 , and which resulted in her temporary removal from her berth at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park . Approximately 80 % of the ship ' s timbers were replaced with new timbers matching the original wood . The ship sailed back to the Hyde Street Pier on 12 April 2007 . She is currently missing her masts and bowsprit .