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Teo Okabe was a gillnet fisherman and a boat carpenter at North Pacific cannery. However, he came from a farming family in the Fraser Valley, and only came north by chance: "I didn't have any idea of fishing but I came up here in 1950. A friend of mine was coming up with a boat. Ole Phillipson was the manger of North Pacific Cannery. Ole says, he looked at me and he says, 'Are you a fisherman?' And I said, 'No, I'm not.' And he says, 'No, the reason why I'm asking is because they have an old clunker down there that they wanted me to bring up here.' That's how I came up here. It was an accident that I did come up here... The year after, in 1951, I ordered a new boat from Wahl's. I named it the Okabe only I spelled it Ocabby, so everybody thought I'm a taxi driver." (Teo Okabe interview. North Pacific Archives, 1993)
In 1976 Teo and his son Allan decided to go into business together. The Wahl's were selling their Prince Rupert boatyard at Fairview, and they saw it as a good opportunity as a ship repair facility. In 1981, the facility was rebuilt, increasing the capacity of the ways from ships of 200 tons to 500 tons, making it the fifth largest major repair shop in BC and the largest north of Vancouver. A diversified crew of shipwrights, welders, mechanics, fibreglassers, sandblasters and painters were kept busy at the shop. By 1988, Okabe Shipyards had a regular staff of 14 employees, seven of whom were First Nations. During peak spring and summer operations, this went up to a crew of 20, with at least 10 being First Nations. Part of Okabe's mandate was to run an apprenticing program for First Nations workers. A new venture at an old boatbuilding site began in 1987 when Okabes leased Cassiar Cannery, which had ceased canning salmon in 1983. Gitsan Industries was a First Nations group which had a large fishing fleet, and Okabe's had the boatbuilding and repair contract to maintain the fleet. They also kept the net loft, net repair facilities, the store and the fuel dock running through the summer. Over its first ten years business grew. Volume in 1977 was $400,000. In 1987 their sales from the Prince Rupert yard had grown to $1,250,000 and the Cassiar Plant brought in $500,000. Most of their customers were in the fishing industry, with about half of them being First Nations. They did work for the Canadian Coast Guard, Metlakatla Ferry and Rivtow Straits. By 1989 the picture had changed. Fairview Terminal next door was expanding, and Okabe Shipyards was shut down. In a satisfying closure to the story, the timber and contents were saved. A large bandsaw went to Oona River and the ways and winch went to Rivtow Straits. The dock and most of the lumber and machinery were donated to North Pacific Cannery Village Museum for its restoration. Now the shop that the Wahls built in 1959 and that had continued to play a significant role in North Coast shipping, lives on under the Okabe name.
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