Last voyage near for Wawona

The historic local schooner Wawona is to make a final voyage under tow Monday morning from Waterway 4 at South Lake Union to a nearby dry dock to be dismantled.

Some of the 165-foot vessel's historic features will be preserved for future museum exhibits.

The towing, to start at 10 a.m., will be a short trip to Lake Union Drydock on the east side of the lake. Owned by Northwest Seaport, the 111-year-old Wawona has been moored on Lake Union since 1980.

During its active years, the vessel hauled lumber from Washington ports to California, served as an Army barge during World War II and was a fishing schooner in the Bering Sea.

In later years it was used as a museum ship.

In 1970, the Wawona was the first vessel to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, designated as a City Landmark in 1977 and named as a Historic Naval Ship in 1999.

But a professional survey in 2005 found much of the vessel's structure was in poor condition.