Ellsworth Orr built this scale model of the Caltex Lumba-Lumba boat. The Lumba-Lumba was an all-aluminum vessel built in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1961 for the Caltex Oil Co. The boat was built to transport oil company employees across the Strait of Malacca between Singapore and Dumai, Indonesia. It was later chartered in 1976 to British Columbia Ferries for service between Prince Rupert and Bella Bella, British Columbia.
The Lumba-Lumba gained its name from the Malay for, “over the waves.” The full-size vessel is 75-feet long with a beam of 18-feet, a draft of 5-feet, and powered by twin Diesel engines. It seats 30 passengers in aircraft type accommodation with a top speed of 18 knots. When the ship came back to Vancouver, it was transported as deck cargo aboard the Martha Bakke, and then docked at Vancouver Shipyards Ltd. for a remodel.
