McKenzie River Dory "Gem", Grand Canyon Village

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-81. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon vicinity, Coconino County, Arizona McKenzie River Dory GEM is located at latitude: longitude: The point represents the building housing the Grand Canyon National Park Museum Collection. It was obtained from Google Earth on April 22, and there is no restriction on its release to the public. Date of Construction: Builder: Stephen Moulton Moulty Babcock Fulmer Original Owner: Moulty Fulmer

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-81. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

McKenzie River Dory GEM is significant as the first McKenzie River dory to run through the Grand Canyon. It also has the distinction of being the first hard-hulled Colorado River boat with a steep-angled rocker. Description: GEM is nearly long with a beam.1 It was constructed of plywood, thick on the sides and thick for the bulkheads and decking, with a tapered bow and square stern. Fulmer designed the boat to have air-tight chambers for buoyancy, which were sealed with caulk. It could hold two passengers, with side boxes for storage in the boatman s footwell. The dory also featured a stern deck grab rope and splash board, rub rails, and scuppers on either side for drainage. GEM is in poor condition, with much of the top decking missing.

The exterior paint and lettering are very worn, although remaining paint reveals that the bottom was red, the sides white, and the interior blue. In August-September Tom Martin, a boat historian, made a wheeled wooden cradle for the dory.2 1 McKenzie River Dory GEM has been accessioned as Catalog Number GRCA 2 Historic River Boats Afloat, available online at accessed April Tom Martin, Chapter 10, Moulty Fulmer s GEM, on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/457346060, accessed April MCKENZIE RIVER DORY GEM HAER No. AZ-81 (Page 2) History: River runner Stephen Moulton Moulty Babcock Fulmer constructed the dory in He had met Woodie Hindman, an Oregon boat builder known for his McKenzie River drift boat, in while stationed in Corvallis.

This influenced Fulmer to build his own McKenzie River dory that mimicked the continuous steep rocker bow to stern of Hindman s design. The first dory built by Fulmer was MOJA (named for Moulty and his wife) followed by GEM (named for his parents, George and Emma). Moulty took GEM through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River from Lee s Ferry to Temple Bar in the summers of and teaming up with Plez Talmadge Pat Reilly and rowers Vernon Brick Mortenson and Martin Litton. In the water was running at over cubic feet per second Fulmer in GEM, Pat PT Reilly in Susie R, and VR Brick Mortenson in Flavell attempted a river run but had to leave their boats at Phantom Ranch and hike out of the canyon.

They returned the following year to retrieve their boats and try again; this time the river flow was At Lava Falls they faced a huge rapid. Having already lost Flavell in a flip upstream, the group again decided to abandon the effort. This time they set the two remaining boats free to float downstream and hiked out on the Lava Falls Trail. They caught a ride to Lake Mead, rented a power boat, and headed upstream where they found a half-sunk Susie R. They also caught up with famed river runner Georgie White, who was towing Flavell behind one of her commercial pontoon boats. GEM was not found until however, when receding waters exposed the dory and it caught the eye of a National Park Service ranger.

By then all the top decking (except for a segment over the front flotation chamber) was missing as were the wooden oar locks. Grand Canyon National Park acquired the boat on October 31, when it was transferred from Lake Mead National Recreation Area. GEM was first stored in the Kolb Studio garage, and in November it was moved to the Maintenance Warehouse. Tom Martin, along with volunteers and the park s special collection staff stabilized and cleaned the boat. Martin also took measurements of the boat and built a replica, which he ran through the Grand Canyon in and following years. The Grand Canyon historic boat collection was then moved again to a new storage area in the Powell Building in December

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-81. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The report is based on information from the Grand Canyon Museum Collection and the following additional sources. 3 Historic River Boats Afloat ; Martin, Chapter 10, Moulty Fulmer s GEM. MCKENZIE RIVER DORY GEM HAER No. AZ-81 (Page 3) An Historic Reunion. November 10, Williams-Grand Canyon News. Available online at accessed April Historic River Boats Afloat. Available online at accessed April Martin, Tom. Chapter 10, Moulty Fulmer s GEM. Available on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/457346060, accessed April

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-81. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

McKenzie River Dory GEM was documented as part of the Historic American Engineering Record s Maritime Recording Program. The Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) is part of Heritage Documentation Programs, a division of the National Park Service. Todd Croteau, HAER Architect, served as project manager. Ryan Pierce produced the measured drawings in Grand Canyon National Park staff provided the information for the historical report, which was formatted by Justine Christianson, HAER Historian,