Slocan Valley Historical Society

The Merriwake is one of the oldest surviving Japanese Canadian boatworks boats and one of the oldest surviving BC built wooden fishing boats. This boat contains many relevant and typical touches of the Japanese Canadian boatbuilding culture of the era, and is in excellent condition for its age. It is a 31-foot gillnetter built in 1929 on BC’s North Coast by Japanese Canadian boatbuilders, most probably Matsumoto Boatworks in the Prince Rupert area.

The Interpretative Centre will tell the story of the Merriwake alongside that of interned Japanese Canadians in the 1940s. The boat restoration is nearing completion and the shelter and interpretative centre will be built in 2022.