AL FOSTER, New York, NY – 1897 Owned and operated by her namesake, Captain Al Foster, the "AL FOSTER" was built in 1892 by Harlan & Hollingsworth at Wilmington, Delaware. At 215 feet in length, a breadth of 40 feet, and a hull depth of 15 feet, she was the largest vessel ever built exclusively for party boat fishing. In July of 1892 her ad in the New York Times boasted "A Day on the Ocean - Cholera or Fishing Banks, Just built for this route, New twin-screw steamer with triple expansion engine, Seven water-tight compartments, Deck and hull all iron or steel, Cannot sink or burn, Palace saloon, and the Pride of the River and Ocean". She sailed daily from Manhattan with departures from the 23rd Street Pier on the East river and from the Battery. In 1898, Captain Foster sold the vessel and she continued sailing from New York to the fishing banks as "THE FOSTER" and later as the "DOLPHIN". In April of 1900, the vessel was purchased by the Alaska Steamship Company of Seattle, Washington for $100,000 and became a light cargo and passenger ferry operating between Seattle and Cape Nome, Alaska. In 1920, the vessel was sold to an owner in Chile, and in 1923, she was purchased by the Mexican Navy who converted the vessel into the gunboat "PLAN DE GUADELUPE". She was scrapped the following year.