"ruth shorts" was thomas shorts's first boat. she was named for his mother. "ruth shorts" was a rowboat that could make a roundtrip from penticton to okanagan landing in nine days. "ruth shorts" could carry 2.5 tons of cargo as well as a few passengers. occasionally, the boat would sport a sail if the weather permitted it. captain shorts had no schedule; he left when he wanted or when there was enough people to make the trip worthwhile. shorts would row during the day and when dusk fell he would row ashore and camp on land with his passengers for the night. captain shorts would row sixty-five miles per trip.