{{short description|Canadian sternwheel steamboat}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=Nowitka (sternwheeler) loading at Golden, BC for first river trip 1911.JPG |image_caption=''Nowitka'' loading at Golden, BC for first commercial trip on Columbia River, 1911. }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |name=''Nowitka'' (CAN #130604<ref name = Affleck>Affleck, Edward L., ''A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska'', at 57, Alexander Nicholls Press, Vancouver, BC 2000 {{ISBN|0-920034-08-X}}</ref>) |owner=Golden Columbia River Lumber Company |operator= |registry=Golden, BC |route=Inland British Columbia on the Columbia River in the Columbia Valley |ordered= |builder=George Rury<ref name = McCurdy>McCurdy, H.W., ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', at 191, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1966</ref> |original_cost= |yard_number= |way_number= |laid_down= |launched=1911 at Golden, BC |christened= |acquired= |maiden_voyage= |in_service= |out_of_service=May 1920 |identification= |fate=Abandoned 1920 |notes= }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |type=Inland passenger/freighter |tonnage=113 gross tons; 62 registered tons |displacement= |length={{convert|80.5|ft|m|0|lk=on|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|19|ft|m|0|lk=on|abbr=on}} |height= |draught= |draft= |depth={{convert|3.5|ft|m|0|lk=on|abbr=on}} depth of hold |decks= |deck_clearance= |ramps= |ice_class= |power=twin steam engines, horizontally mounted, 8" bore by 30" stroke, 2 nominal horsepower, manufactured 1840 by G.A. Ponbriand, Sorel, Que. |propulsion=sternwheel |speed= |capacity= |crew= |notes=Engines were over 70 years old when installed. Some of upperworks came from ''North Star'' }} }}

'''''Nowitka''''' was a sternwheel steamboat that operated in British Columbia on the Columbia River from 1911 to May 1920. The name is a Chinook Jargon word usually translated as "Indeed!" or "Verily!".

==Design and construction== [[Image:Sternwheelers at Athalmer, BC ca 1913.JPG|thumb|left|''Nowitka'' on right, ''Klahowya'' center, and ''Isabella McCormack'' (converted to houseboat), on left, at Althalmer, BC ca 1913]] ''Nowitka'' was built at Golden, BC for the Golden Columbia River Lumber Company. ''Nowitka'''s engines were over 70 years old, and had been originally built for a ferry crossing the St. Lawrence River. The engines had been previously installed in other sternwheelers on the upper Columbia River, including the first ''Duchess'', the second ''Duchess'' and ''Ptarmigan''.<ref name = McCurdy/> The blunt-ended bow of ''Nowitka'' allowed the vessel to be readily capable of pushing barges, which increased the vessel's utility and effective cargo capacity.<ref name = Affleck/><ref name = Downs>Downs, Art, ''Paddlewheels on the Frontier -- The Story of British Columbia and Yukon Sternwheel Steamers'', at 101-112, Superior Publishing, Seattle WA 1972</ref>

==Operations== [[Image:Nowitka (sternwheeler) unloading at Edgewater, BC 1914.JPG|thumb|left|''Nowitka'' and barge unloading construction supplies at landing at Edgewater, BC, ca 1914]] ''Nowitka'' was placed on the Columbia River route that began at Golden and ran south, at least during high water, to Columbia Lake, the ultimate source of the Columbia River. ''Nowitka'' was last used to haul supplies to construct a bridge at Brisco, BC.<ref name = Affleck/><ref name = Downs/>

==Removal from service== Following construction of the bridge at Brisco, ''Nowitka'' was taken out of service in May 1920, and abandoned near the sawmill wharf at Golden. ''Nowitka'' was the last steamboat to operate on the Columbia River in the Columbia Valley, although gasoline and diesel powered vessels did run later on the river.<ref name = Affleck/><ref name = Downs/>

==Notes== {{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading== {{commons category|Nowitka (ship, 1911)}} * Faber, Jim, ''Steamer's Wake—Voyaging down the old marine highways of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River'', Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985 {{ISBN|0-9615811-0-7}} * Timmen, Fritz, ''Blow for the Landing'', 75–78, 134, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, ID 1972 {{ISBN|0-87004-221-1}}

{{Steamboats Columbia River headwaters}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nowitka (Sternwheeler)}} Category:Paddle steamers of British Columbia Category:Steamboats of the Columbia River Category:Columbia Valley Category:1911 ships