Lake steamers of North America

Lake Steamers of North America include:

Lake steamers are, for our definition here, large, steam-powered non-government vessels with displacement hulls on American freshwater lakes excluding the Great Lakes. They may have served as passenger boats, freighters, mail-boats, log-boom vessels or a combination thereof. The construction of such vessels posed unique problems on water bodies located away from established dry-docks and marine railways, or connecting canals to such facilities.

In some countries such as Switzerland, lake steamers may have been preserved in their original configuration. In the United States with its dynamic economy and changing cultural mores, the survival of such boats often depended on reuses and power plant changes. The MS Mount Washington, with four different power-plants and changes from side-wheeler to screw steamer to diesel power, provides a fine example. Few such vessels survive in the US where the first commercial steamers were launched.

Smaller steamers

Surviving vessels in near original condition:

Dieselized steamer hulls

MS Mount Washington
Two years after her launch, the new Mount's engines were removed for use in a navy vessel during World War II. After the war, the Mount Washington returned to the water but with diesel engines, hence the "M/V" prefix designating "motor vessel". The ship was a success in the post-war tourism boom although she became a money-maker in the 1980s under the ownership of Scott Brackett.
In 1982, the Mount was cut open and extended with an additional 20-foot (6.1 m) hull section to add larger lounge and food service facilities. The larger size upped the ship's designation to M/S or "motor ship". More popular, the Mount makes one or two round-trips on the lake per day during the summer season, as well as numerous dinner dance cruises in the evenings.
In the first days of March 2010, the Mount was cut open, the unserviceable circa 1946 motors were removed (Enterprise DMG18 motors: 8cyl 615 hp), and the ship was repowered with two "green" Caterpillar motors, giving more power and economy to the ship.[1][2]

Notes

  1. ↑ "M/S Mount Washington Gets Major Engine Upgrade: New Engines Lighter, Cleaner, More Powerful". WMUR.com. March 3, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Cat C32 ACERT Repowers M/S Mount Washington". Marinelink.com. June 18, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2010.

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, September 06, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.