The scow schooner was a unique type of working sailing craft developed to transport cargo around San Francisco Bay and its tributaries. These thoroughly effective and practical vessels combined a variety of desirable qualities: they navigated shallow rivers, were easy to work, handled well under different conditions, and maneuvered well in close quarters. GAS LIGHT is a replica of the famous San Francisco hay scows that plied the bay during the nineteenth century, until the advent of the internal combustion engine.

The original GAS LIGHT was built in the1870's. More than a century later, in 1991, the new GAS LIGHT was launched. Billy Martinelli, the owner and primary craftsman, conceived and built the new schooner GAS LIGHT as a window on the proud heritage of the original working scows.

For a more in-depth history of San Francisco scow schooners, click the links below:

http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/nhl/alma.htm

http://www.nps.gov/archive/safr/local/alma.html

Also add a reference to the Scow Schooner book