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Cigar Raft A generic term for large log rafts built during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Cigar rafts were specifically built for ocean navigation and were regularly pulled by tug boats from Oregon and Washington to markets in California. Cigar rafts were built by systematically placing logs inside a tapered wooden cradle and securing the entire load with heavy chains. Chains were secure, the raft was freed from the cradle but retained its signature "cigar" shape. East Coast Origins In 1886, Hugh Robertson, a U.S. citizen living in of St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, filed for and was granted a U.S. patent for Improvements in the "Mode of Rafting Logs, Timber, Piling-Poles,and Lumber Generally for Deep-Water Towing". In contrast to previous rafting methods which relied on logs laid flat on the water, Robertson's patent called for the creation of a timber form or cradle where logs were inserted one on top of the other in such a manner as to provide structural stability. Chains or cables would encircle the entire finished raft and would hold the raft's cylindrical form and would float freely when released from the cradle. A heavy chain running through the center, securely attached at the front and rear would act as points for mooring and towing. The tight structure and shape of the cigar raft was thought to allow for ease of towing especially over long distances, even in the open ocean. Unlike later designs where the cradle itself is free-floating while the raft is constructed, Robertson's 1886 design has the cradle resting on a slipway during raft creation. (add cradle design photo from patent)

In July 1886 in Two Rivers, Novia Scotia, Robertson completed his first raft. It contained over two million board feet of timber, being over 400 feet long, 50 feet wide at the center, 33 feet deep in the center and 25 feet in diameter at either end. The raft failed to launch as designed. Robertson felt satisfied with his design and decided to dismantle the raft and rebuild. The second raft was launched from Port Joggins, Nova Scotia, in December 1887. It contained three million board feet of timber, being 525 feet long, 50 feet wide at the center, 33 feet deep in the center and 19 feet in diameter at either end. The raft left Port Joggins bound for New York. In bad weather and heavy seas off the Nantucket shoals the raft broke free from the steamship tender and broke up at sea.

North California

Robertson moved to Alamedia, California and again utilized his earlier cradle design to create a log raft. Working at Noyo in Mendocino County, Robertson built seven small rafts, in total stretching 720 feet. Launched together in a string in July 1889. All were lost at sea. In May 1892, Robertson launched a raft containing 1.2 million feet of piling. The raft was 600 feet long, 21 feet deep and 35 feet wide. The raft broke up on its way to San Francisco. Robertson left Ft. Bragg to begin construction of rafts in Coos Bay, Oregon, leaving construction in California in the hands of local forman James Brett. In January and July 1893, a second and third raft of similar size were successfully launched by Brett and delivered to San Francisco. find good photo

Coos Bay, Oregon

Robertson achieve some success at Coos Bay, owing much to a design change in cradle construction. Robertson built upon his former design creating a "floating cradle, composed of separable sections, each section comprising suitable horizontal pieces uprights, ad intervening inclined braces, to give shape or form to the raft, and means for holding said sections together while the raft is built, and releasing them, whereby they may separate to launch the raft. Robertson had solved his launch issues by building the raft in a floating cradle that once released from the raft, could be reused to build subsequent rafts. In 1897, Robertson was granted a patent for his new design.   was built in Coos Bay in 1893.  It contained 270,000 linear feet of timber.  It was 650 feet long, drew 18 feet of water and contained 3,515 logs.  After initially grounding on the bar, the raft was towed to sea where it was loft off Cape Mendocino.  Robertson launched another raft the following year which successfully reached San Fransciso.

Stella, Washington

Encouraged by his success in Coos Bay, Robertson moved north to work on the Columbia River. In 1894 he formed the Robertson Log Rafting Company and hired John Fastabend to build a cradle at Astoria, Oregon. The cradle was towed upstream to Stella, Washington where a raft was constructed in the Coal Creek Slough. In October 1894, Robertson launched his first cigar raft from Stella. Ii was lost at sea three days after crossing the Columbia River bar. Undeterred, Robertson launched another cigar raft from Stella in the spring of 1895. The cigar raft reached San Francisco with only minimal loss of cargo.

West Seattle, Washington

Results from Stella garnered interest from West Seattle bases Pope & Talbot. In 1896 Robertson successfully delivered two cigar rafts from Pope & Talbots's Port Blakely Mill to San Francisco. Working in the salt water environment of Puget Sound invited wood-boring teredos (CITE) which rendered the cradle useless within a years. Robertson once again focused on the freshwater of the Columbia River.

Stella, Washington

Partnering with Pope & Talbot and the Hammond Lumber Company, Robertson returned to Stella. Robertson constructed cigar rafts containing piling. The last of 53 cigar rafts constructed in Stella launched in 1922. in 1907, Robertson assembled the largest cigar raft ever. It was 835 feet long, 60 feet wide, and carried 11 million board feet of lumber.

Clatskane, Oregon

By 1906, Simon Benson had hired John Fastabend to build a cradle to create cigar rafts to tow to Bensons sawmill in San Diego. In the spring of 1905, Benson successfully launched his first cigar raft from Wallace Slough, Oregon. The cigar raft was delivered intact to San Diego. Benson delivered the last cigar raft to San Diego in the fall of 1941.

A paper written by C.E Jones and published in The Wisconsin Engineer, Volumes 15-16, 1921, goes into detail on both construction of a cradle and cigar raft. As Jones relates, "The Cigar Raft...is very little understood and numerous items in regard to size, method of construction and strength have sen greatly misrepresented in certain of our scientific journals."