The copper fitted to Eureka during its 1993–94 drydock stay was new, but the pieces were deliberately made smaller. The National Park Service’s restoration account says workers cut modern sheets to traditional dimensions before fastening 12,000 square feet of copper over the ferry’s hull. Beneath it they laid felt and tar; elsewhere, the crew caulked miles of seams between wooden planks. The metal’s pattern was part of the job, not just the amount needed to cover the boat. [1]
Replacement did not always mean using the same material. Deteriorated beams carrying the paddlewheels and their boxes were replaced with steel. New timbers received borate rods intended to inhibit rot as moisture dissolved the treatment into the surrounding wood. These were interventions in a working structure, even though Eureka had stopped carrying passengers commercially in 1957. [1]
Where is this place?
Mare Island Coal Sheds, Vallejo — Eureka’s later berth, not the photographed Hyde Street location. This map locates the town or region, not a verified exact historic event site.
Other repairs could be smaller and temporary. A separate Park Service project proposal identified rot in deck beams around a stair box and in the tongue-and-groove flooring of Junior’s Hold. It specified temporary supports for the stair box and local replacement of damaged flooring, with added supports underneath. The proposal records what was intended; it does not establish when that work was completed. [2]
Eureka moved from San Francisco’s Hyde Street Pier to Mare Island in Vallejo in August 2025. In its project FAQ, the Park Service describes another round of planned hull and deck repairs, plus electrical and safety-system updates. [3]