Site Navigation:

Site Search:

Looking for more? Search for Articles on the Nauticapedia Site.

The R.F.M.

by Drew Clarke and John MacFarlane 2017

RFM

The RFM (Photo from the Drew Clarke collection.)

The R.F.M. was built in 1922 at Beach Avenue Shipyard (Arthur Moscrop) Vancouver BC as the T.G.H., later R.F.M., later Francis Lynn II, later Brora Thor, later Merrie Ellen. She is 23.1m x 6m x 3m (75.9’ x 19.8’ x 12.4’) wooden hull 96.47gt 64.04rt. She was powered with a 33hp 3–cylinder triple expansion surface condensing steam engine by W. Beardmore & Company, Coatbridge UK. Over the years she was repowered with 300hp engine (1945); 300bhp Imperial engine (1968); 90bhp CAT diesel engine (1988c).

RFM

The R.F.M. (Photo from the Drew Clarke collection.)

In 1922–1958 she was owned by Marpole Towing Co. Ltd., Vancouver BC. In 1960–1961 she was owned by Evans Coleman & Evans, Vancouver BC. In 1962 she was owned by Bert Booth, Port Coquitlam BC. In 1965–1968 she was owned by George W. O’Brien, New Westminster BC. In 1968 she was owned by Ante Bakica, Vancouver BC. In 1969 she was owned by Lady Valentine Charters, Vancouver BC. In 1976–1979 she was owned by Wayne M. Pinkeston (MO), Vancouver BC. In 1982–1999 she was owned by Brian W. Holshoe, New Westminster BC and registered at Vancouver BC. In 2000 she was owned by Ralph I. Higgins, Cowichan Bay BC. In 2005 she was owned by Curtis Forsyth, Lac La Hache BC. In 2007–2017 she was owned by John & Jill Holbert, Brinnin WA USA.

RFM

The R.F.M. (Photo from the Drew Clarke collection.)

This vessel spent the first part of her life as a tugboat, named for Richard Friedrich Marpole. In 1988 she was rebuilt as a schooner by Brian Holshoe.


To quote from this article please cite:

Clarke, Drew and John MacFarlane (2017) The R.F.M.. Nauticapedia.ca 2017. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/RFM.php

Nauticapedia

Site News: January 14, 2025

The vessel database has been updated and is now holding 94,957 vessel histories (with 16,337 images and 13,935 records of ship wrecks and marine disasters).

The mariner and naval biography database has also been updated and now contains 58,599 entries (with 3998 images).

My thanks to Ray Warren who is beginning a long process of filling gaps in the photo record of the vessel histories in the vessel database. Ray has been documenting the ships of Vancouver Harbour for more than 60 years.

Thanks to contributor Mike Rydqvist McCammon for the hundreds of photos he continues to contribute to illustrate British Columbia’s floating heritage.

My very special thanks to our volunteer IT adviser, John Eyre, who (since 2021) has modernized, simplified and improved the update process for the databases into semi–automated processes. His participation has been vital to keeping the Nauticapedia available to our netizens.

Thanks to John Spivey who is beginning his 4th year of fact checking all of the entries in the vessel database.

© 2002-2023