Seacliff State Park Draws Visitors to Famous Aptos Cement Ship

People visit the quaint town of Aptos, California for many reasons. One of the strangest is to view the famous cement ship that sits at the end of the pier at Seacliff Beach State Park. Stranger yet is the story of how it got there.

WW1

In 1917, steel shortages brought on by WW1 forced the US to build cement ships for transporting troops, supplies, and to use as oil tankers. Taking the ideas and methods of a Norwegian engineer named Herman Fougner, who built the first ever cement boat, the San Francisco Ship Building Co. built the SS Palo Alto and its sister ship, the SS Peralta in 1919, two of a fleet of twelve built by various shipyards.

Cal-Nevada Amusement Co.

The Palo Alto never saw action because the war ended. It sat useless, moored in the San Francisco Bay until 1929 when The Cal-Nevada Amusement Company bought the ship intending to use it as an entertainment center, arcade, dance hall, and fishing boat. They towed it to its present location and opened valves that let it sink to the sea bottom. They built a dance floor and other amenities. In 1930, they constructed a long pier to the ship. The company, falling into hard times, failed two years later.

Bird Sanctuary

Now abandoned, the boat sits off Seacliff Beach in the quaint town of Aptos, Santa Cruz County, California. A barricade fence separates it from public access for safety reasons. It serves for the amusement of the many birds that flock there. Pelicans and gulls predominate but grebes, loons, terns, and numerous other birds claim it as their sanctuary. Large holes in the ship deck show steel rods inserted during the building process. Many of the smaller birds perch on these rods, safe from people and bigger birds.

Artist Mecca

It captures the imaginations of artists, historians, and tourists who flock to it and make it one of the most photographed and painted relics in California. It seems that many people in Aptos own a painting or a series of photographs of their most famous boat.

Seacliff Beach

Located south of Santa Cruz off Highway 1, Seacliff Beach got its name from the sandstone cliffs that tower over it. With two miles of sand, it draws people to it to picnic, camp (reservations required), fish, and walk along it.

On a recent day, recreation vehicles lined the beach not far from the water's edge. Campers, mostly older travelers, fed hot dogs and hamburgers into barbecues or sat in lawn chairs contemplating the water. Children, from somewhere nearby, rode bikes up and down the pavement. Further down at a deserted part of the beach, a homeless man slept in the sand, surrounded by knapsacks and a canvas tote. A couple of brave surfboarders donned wet suits and challenged the waves to bring them to shore, cheered on by gulls.

Conclusion

No trip to the Aptos area is complete without visiting the beach and staring in wonderment at the cement ship. California affords many unique places and the Seacliff Beach and its famous boat is one to stir the imagination while you gaze in amazement at the relic who's maiden and final voyage was a short trip from San Francisco Bay.