Canim - Builder and Owner History

Lake Union Drydock & Machinery Company ~ Seattle, WA ~ 1930

Specifications: Designer/Builder: Ted Geary/Lake Union Drydock & Machine Works Year: 1929/1930 LOA: 96" LWL: 89' Beam: 18' 10" Draft: 7' 6" Wt: 89T Machinery: 2 x 325hp Cummins Speed: 12.5/10 (max/cruise) Range: 1500NM Hull: Teak/Mahogany/Yellow Cedar/Douglass Fir.

Builder History: Lake Union Drydock and Machine Works was founded in 1919 by Otis Cutting and J. L. McLean. In the 1920s the firm was known for well-built motor yachts and became associated with naval architect L. E. (Ted) Geary. Geary designed, and Lake Union built, a series of luxury fantail motor yachts that in 1928 included "Principia" & "Blue Peter" followed in 1930 by "Electra" and "Canim". After a joint venture to build minesweepers for the U.S. Navy in 1941, the firm became Lake Union Drydock Company in 1945. As of 2009, Lake Union continues to prosper at its primary business of maintaining and repairing ocean-going vessels. Interestingly, this company has the distinction of having the last remaining all-wooden pier in Seattle, WA.

Boat History: Over 80 years "Canim" has been under the stewardship of 19 owners and briefly two name changes. Some notable owners include Col. C.B. Blethen (owner publisher of the Seattle Times), Natalie Keaton, (widow of silent movie star Buster Keaton), Clessie Cummins (founder of Cummin’s Diesel Engines), and Wagner Erhert (EST). She was sold at auction in 2000, then underwent a one-year renovation at the Philbrook Boatyard in Sidney, BC. In 2004, Martin & Lisa Sutter encountered her cruising the British Virgin Islands and embarked upon a two-year quest to purchase her. Finally acquiring the boat in 2006, she was returned to the BVIs, and began the Sutter’s program of returning "Canim" to her classic origins from an earlier period. As of 2008, this magnificent yacht calls Harbor Springs, MI home.