Scow schooners like the Alma were essentially sail-powered cargo barges, carrying all sorts of bulk goods. Built at Hunters Point, California in 1891, Alma is the last original sailing scow in existence.

The Californian is a full-scale re-creation of the 1848-vintage Revenue Marine Service Cutter,C.W. Lawrence, one of the fastest and grandest ships in the evolution of the United States Revenue Marine Service, and the first to be assigned to the California coast.