Most of the vessels were older, some had been pulled off mud flats and given a paint job, which led a newspaper of the time to call them "floating coffins."

In 1898, following return from Alaska, the Bryant was rebuilt into a propeller steamer for Capt Dan Troutman's Hood Canal service.

[5] By 1900, Dode was the only boat on the Hood Canal route, which started at Seattle and included landings at Kingston, Port Gamble, Seabeck, Brinnon, Holly, Dewatto, Lilliwaup Falls, Hoodsport and Union City.

During 1903, the rapidly growing Puget Sound Navigation Co. acquired Bellingham Transportation Company, but Dode and Willapa did not go to PSN operational control until the spring of 1904.

The workers, who were seeking pay of $45 per month, shut down operation of all the company's boats for a while, but in the end, they obtained their raise and returned to work.