Zodiac, Schooner in South Lake Union, Seattle, United States

Zodiac is a two-masted schooner built in 1924 at Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard in East Boothbay, Maine, to a design by William H. Hand Jr. Its white hull carries a thin red stripe along the upper edge, and two slender wooden masts with booms hold the sails furled. Measuring 126 feet 10 inches overall with a 25-foot 2-inch beam, it was the largest vessel Hand designed.

The vessel was built in 1924 at a Maine shipyard and began service as a pilot boat for the San Francisco Bar Pilots Association starting in 1931. After decades of working life in that role, it was eventually converted back to passenger and educational service.

The name Zodiac comes from the yacht built for Robert Wood and J. Seward Johnson, heirs to the Johnson & Johnson fortune. Since 1973 the not-for-profit Northwest Schooner Society has partnered with the private Vessel Zodiac Corporation to run sail training for youth and adults aboard the restored schooner.

Zodiac sails from Bellingham in Washington state, cruising the San Juan Islands and British Columbia's Gulf Islands on charters. The Northwest Schooner Society runs sail-training programs aboard for youth and adults. The rig was restored to its original configuration after 1973, so guests sail a working two-masted schooner rather than a motorized replica.

The ship started as a luxury yacht for Johnson & Johnson family heirs before becoming a working pilot boat for decades. This unexpected shift from private pleasure vessel to working ship is part of its interesting past.