Design 1065 ship
![]() Design 1065 ship SS Cruso in dazzle camouflage at the Pacific American Fisheries shipyard in 1918. | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | EFC Design 1065 |
| Builders | Pacific American Fisheries, Bellingham, Washington |
| Cost | $50,000 |
| Built | 1918–1919 |
| Planned | 7 |
| Completed | 7 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 2,445 gross tons[1] 3,500 dwt |
| Length | 268 ft 4 in (81.79 m) |
| Beam | 46 ft 0 in (14.02 m) |
| Draft | 26 ft 0 in (7.92 m) |
| Propulsion | Twin triple-expansion engines |
The Design 1065 ship (full name Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1065) was a wooden-hulled cargo ship design approved for production by the United States Shipping Board's Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) in World War I.[2] A total of 7 ships were ordered and completed for the USSB from 1918 to 1919.[2] The ships were constructed at the Bellingham, Washington shipyard of Pacific American Fisheries.[1] The USSB originally wanted Pacific American Fisheries to follow its standard "Ferris-type" design (Design 1001) used by other shipyards but PAF was successful in convincing them to use their own design which they felt was more seaworthy.[3] The cost was $50,000 per ship.[3]
One of these ships, originally named SS Clio, was later renamed Arcturus and served as the vessel for naturalist William Beebe's 1925 Arcturus scientific expedition.

Gallery
Another view of Arcturus on Beebe's 1925 expedition.
Arcturus in 1924, before Beebe's expedition.
Arcturus on her return from the expedition.
References
- 1 2 Colton, Tim (August 25, 2021). "Emergency Shipbuilders of WWI". Retrieved September 6, 2021.
- 1 2 McKellar, p. Part II, 332 and 341.
- 1 2 Jewell, Jeff (May 31, 2008). "PAF fleet among the last of the coast's wooden trawlers". Bellingham Business Journal.
Bibliography
- McKellar, Norman L. "American Wooden Shipbuilding in World War One, Part II" (PDF). Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921. ShipScribe. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- Bennett, Edwin C. (July 1925). "Equipping the Arcturus". Zoological Society Bulletin. 28 (4). New York Zoological Society: 87–90. Retrieved 11 May 2026. Detailed account of how Arcturus was converted into a research vessel.
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