[3] The boiler for Winema, which weighed 14,000 pounds (6,400 kg), was hauled overland by a ten-horse team from the railhead at Pokegama, Oregon to Klamath Falls in early 1905.
[6] No road then extended from Klamath Falls to the site where the steamer was being built, so it was necessary to put down planks to prevent the wagon from becoming mired in the mud.
[1] To operate on the shallow lake, the draft (the minimum depth of water necessary to float the boat) was only 22 inches (560 mm).
[3] Oliver C. Stone gave a short dedicatory speech, after which Mrs. Frank (Mollette) Jennings, of Klamath Fall broke a bottle of wine over the bow, saying: "On the waters of the mighty Klamath, under God's blue canopy, with this wine of sunny France, I christen thee Wi-ne-ma.
[5] Winema began operations in 1905 by making a daily run around the lake to every landing, transporting passengers and freight.
[3] After a stop at Pellican Bay, the boat returned to its home landing at 7:15 p.m.[3] Ice on the lake during the winter generally forced Winema to suspend operations from about December to March.
[3] Early in the Winema's career, in May 1905, an attempt was made to operate the vessel on the Wood River, which empties into the north end of upper Klamath Lake.
[3] The goal was to reach the Weed Bridge, and, if successful, this would have meant a much shorter wagon haul from the steamer landing to the settlement at Fort Klamath.
[3] In backing off the bar, the hull became permanently hogged, that is, flexed so that the middle part of the boat was raised and the bow and the stern drooped lower into the water.
[3] Even so, Winema proceeded, backwards, up the Wood River, until it reached a bend so sharp that the boat could not negotiate it.
[3] It became necessary to excavate a bay in the bank of the river, using hay knives and cross-cut saws to cut the sod, before Winema could be turned.
[3] At 6:00 p.m. on the evening of August 7, 1907, with Captain Hansberry in command, Winema was wrecked just below Bear Island, about 20 miles from Klamath Falls, by a sudden gale.
Hansberry carried a line to the shore, and then went to the nearest landing to secure a boat, which he then used to bring off the passengers who had moved to the unsubmerged portion of the upper deck of the steamer.
[11] Someone sent a message to Odessa landing, and the steam launch Hornet came to pick up the passengers, and take them to Klamath Falls, where they arrived at about 7:00 a.m. on the morning of August 8.
[3] After the dissolution of the partnership, Hansberry built and operated the steamer Hooligan on upper Klamath Lake and also on the Wood River.
[13] In May 1913, Captain Totten announced that Winema would be used for Sunday picnic excursions to Rocky Point and the Harriman Lodge, at Pelican Bay.