C.A. Thayer, Historic schooner at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, US

The C.A. Thayer is a wooden sailing schooner now displayed at Hyde Street Pier as part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The vessel features three masts and the construction style typical of trading ships built on the Pacific Coast during the late 1800s.

Built in 1895 by Danish-born Hans Ditlev Bendixsen at his yard on Humboldt Bay for the E.K. Wood Lumber Company, the schooner carried lumber from Grays Harbor, Washington, to San Francisco until 1912, when storm damage and the rise of steam power ended that trade. Rebuilt with a longer deckhouse, she then sailed each April to Alaskan salmon canneries until 1925, later fished cod in the Bering Sea, and served as an Army ammunition barge from 1942. Her last commercial voyage came in 1950.

The vessel reflects how maritime work shaped communities along the Pacific Coast, with people depending on fishing and lumber trade for their survival. Walking through the ship reveals the tight living quarters where crew members worked and rested during long voyages.

The schooner is easily reached on foot from San Francisco's waterfront and open for self-guided exploration during park hours. Staff members are available to answer questions and provide context about different areas of the vessel.

The ship's name has no space after the first period: American English abbreviations omit it, so the vessel reads C.A. Thayer rather than C. A. Thayer. Built of Douglas fir, she was one of more than 100 similar schooners carrying Northwest timber to California. Her final commercial voyage, to the Bering Sea in 1950, was the last of its kind for a West Coast vessel.