Tumwater man’s bid for Kalakala approved

SEATTLE — Bearing a bucket of fake gold coins, a man who plans to restore the Kalakala to its former splendor has won U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval to buy the art deco ferry.

By wiring the $136,560 purchase price last week, Steve Rodrigues of Tumwater, doing business as Lost Horizons, became the only viable buyer, Judge Samuel Steiner ruled Thursday.

The judge rejected attempts to block the sale by Charles Medlin of Porterville, Calif., the top bidder at an auction; Peter Bevis, a sculptor who founded the Kalakala Foundation, and Robert Reid and Dan Fiorito, who own the property where the 276-foot boat is moored.

"At the present time, the offer by Lost Horizons appears to be the only offer backed by money," Steiner said.

Rodrigues, 52, says he once worked as an engineer and plans to restore the rusting hulk for sailings around Puget Sound and the associated inland marine waters.

A written description of his proposal includes restoration of the boat’s Horseshoe Cafe with curved counters, a lavish oyster bar, retail space and a theater on the main deck, event space on the upper cabin level and a museum and exhibition space below the main deck.

Rodrigues said venture capital will pay for the work but gave no details.

In court, he displayed a bucket of fake gold coins bearing a Lost Horizons logo, saying they would be sold for $20 apiece for future admission to the streamlined boat.

Rodrigues said he was inspired by the 1937 film "Lost Horizon" about a group of people that finds Shangri-La.

"This is a lost horizons, your honor. That’s what this boat is about," Rodrigues said. "I will sail this to Port Townsend, to Anacortes, to Seattle. We will preserve the upper deck to its original beauty."

Steiner replied: "The thing I remember about the Kalakala — and I’m the oldest person in this room, and I’ve lived here all my life — is the terrible vibration of that boat."

Originally built of wood in San Francisco and rebuilt with aluminum plating in 1935, the Kalakala had a plush interior with crushed velvet seats when it began hauling riders between Seattle and Bremerton in 1935. It was withdrawn from service in 1967.

Medlin, who bid $140,000 Sept. 13 at a bankruptcy auction but failed to produce the money within three days as required, said he could have the cash within 24 hours, but the judge said he had missed his chance.

A group that submitted the second-highest bid, $135,000, subsequently backed out. Rodrigues submitted the No. 3 bid, $55,000, but agreed to pay $136,560 in a negotiated deal.

Bevis wanted to preserve his claim that he is owed $1.6 million for his costs in salvaging the ferry in 1998 and returning it from Kodiak, Alaska, where it had been grounded on a mud flat and converted for seafood processing.

Steiner directed Nancy L. James, trustee for the bankrupt foundation, to let Bevis see locked-up records so he can clarify his claim.

Since 1999 the vessel has been moored on the north shore of Lake Union just west of the I-5 bridge.

Rodrigues said he had arranged to have the Kalakala towed to Lake Union Drydock for a hull inspection so it can be moved with Coast Guard approval to another location for the overhaul.

Rodrigues has lined up potential moorage southwest of Tacoma, according to Christian Lint, a semiretired tug captain and engineer who said he is helping on the project.