Evening Star

Evening Star is a 65-foot wooden longliner built in 1945 at Tacoma Boatbuilding Company, commissioned by Norwegian immigrant Norris Lee and his fishing partner, Fred Peterson. In her early years she ran with an all-Norwegian crew, many of them family members, and became the center of a working life shaped by long seasons and close-knit traditions. By 1964, Norris’s son Arne was onboard as a teenager working his first season longlining for halibut and black cod in Alaska. He grew up on her decks, learning the rhythms of a boat that would eventually become his own.

Over the decades, Evening Star has returned to the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op for major repairs and careful upkeep, led by Tim Hoffman— work that reflects both her age and her enduring importance as a commercial vessel. PTSC’s projects have included full keel-length garboard replacements, significant deck and deck-beam repairs, shaft work, and the ongoing cycle of paint, caulking, and preventative maintenance that keeps a wooden longliner sound. Each visit has been an opportunity to preserve original craftsmanship while ensuring she remains strong enough for modern fisheries.



For more than 80 years, Evening Star has provided steady work for generations of fishermen and supplied coastal communities with halibut, black cod, and in her early days, tuna. Her longevity speaks to the families who have cared for her and to the heritage she represents in the working wooden fleet of the Pacific Northwest. Whenever she rounds the corner into the yard, we are reminded why these vessels matter. And we are always glad to see her back.