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Gig Harbor BoatShop advances in state grant funding
The Gig Harbor BoatShop is one step closer to receiving state funding for restoration work on its historic fishing vessel, the Veteran.
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The Washington State Historical Society ranked the BoatShop’s $235,000 Heritage Capital Projects grant application No. 10 among 24 projects recommended for funding. The society received 68 applications from across the state.
If approved by the Legislature, the grant would be included in the state’s 2027-29 capital budget.
The Heritage Capital Projects program supports capital projects involving history-related facilities and landscapes. Created by the Legislature in 1995, the program operates on a two-year cycle. Eligible applicants include Washington nonprofits, tribal organizations, local governments, ports and public development authorities.
The Veteran tied up at Skansie Park during the Fishermen Fied the World event on Aug. 22. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
Veteran is a century old
The Gig Harbor BoatShop, located at the historic Eddon Boatyard on Gig Harbor’s waterfront, offers hands-on educational programs that connect visitors with the area’s maritime history and working waterfront traditions.
Among its historic resources is Veteran, a purse seiner built in 1926 by Gig Harbor’s Skansie Ship Building Company. Pioneer fisherman Peter Skansie, a member of a Croatian immigrant family who fished commercially and established the Skansie Shipbuilding Company, originally operated the vessel.
Nick Fahey donated the Veteran to the Gig Harbor BoatShop in 2017. Today, the vessel serves as a working classroom and takes members of the public onto the waters of the South Sound.
Skansie built about 100 purse seiners, and the Veteran is one of only two that remain in operation and in good condition. According the the Gig Harbor BoatShop, as a Skansie seiner, Veteran is one of the most important vessel designs to originate in Gig Harbor. Skansie seiners were considered state-of-the-art vessels in their day, operating from California to the Bering Sea.
Enhanced restoration
Volunteers at The BoatShop have kept the historic vessel in good condition. The WSHS grant would help restore the vessel to even better condition, giving future generations an opportunity to learn about local maritime skills and traditions.
The grant would support restoration work on Veteran, including improvements to its work deck and repowering project. It is a matching grant, so the BoatShop is continuing to raise its share of the project cost. The organization has already raised thousands of dollars but still has more to go.
The historic purse seiner Veteran in Colvos Passage. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
Veteran drew nearly 300 visitors during the Fishermen Feed the World celebration at Skansie Brothers Park on Aug. 22. The BoatShop also is selling $25 centennial mugs to support its fundraising efforts.
The BoatShop will participate in the Olympia Harbor Days Festival and the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival in the coming weeks. The culmination of Veteran’s centennial year will be a celebration at Eddon Boatyard on March 6, 2027, marking 100 years since the vessel’s launch.
Next steps
The BoatShop’s application is now among the 24 projects recommended for funding by the Legislature. Final funding depends on approval of the state budget.
BoatShop Director Guy Hoppen encouraged supporters to contact their legislators and ask them to support the Veteran grant recommendation.
“Reaching out to your district representatives to let them know that you support the Veteran grant recommendation could help make the Veteran project happen,” Hoppen said.
He also encouraged supporters to mark March 6, 2027, on their calendars for Veteran’s centennial celebration.
Visitors tour the Veteran’s engine room during the Fishermen Feed the World event on Aug. 22, 2026, at Skansie Brothers Park. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann