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.
Surviving vessels in near original condition:
Louise—Steam yacht preserved on Geneva Lake, Wisconsin, available for cruises. Built in 1902 by the Racine Boat Works for Chicago banker John J. Mitchell, it is an elegant vessel now in passenger excursion service. Originally utilizing a coal-fired boiler, it has been extensively upgraded to a more efficient and environment-friendly diesel-fired Scotch marine boiler, powering a two-cylinder double expansion steam engine. This is a steel-hulled vessel, with mahogany trim, and in operation with the Gage Marine Corporation under the auspices of Bill Gage, third-generation owner of the company.
Minnehaha—1906 "Streetcar" style commuter steamer raised from the bottom of Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. Wood hull. Available for cruises.
Virginia V—1922 Puget Sound "Mosquito Fleet" steamer based in Lake Union, Seattle, but known for cruises on Lake Washington. Wood hull with 1898 steam engine. Available for cruises. The Virginia V and Mystic Seaport's Sabino are the nation's two surviving wood-screw steamers.
Ticonderoga—Nation's sole surviving walking-beam side-wheel steamer built in 1906 for service on Lake Champlain. Now a stationary museum at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont.
MV Mount Katahdin—The MV Mount Katahdin of 1914 sails on Moosehead Lake in Maine. The Bath Iron Works-built ship served as a log drive vessel as well as providing summer excursions. It is owned and operated by the Moosehead Maritime Museum. Its outward appearance adheres closely to its lake steamer roots. Available for cruises.
MV Mohican II—The MV Mohican II of Lake George in New York is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was launched in 1907, replacing an earlier wood steamer with the same name. Available for cruises.
MS Mount Washington—The MS Mount Washington of Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire replaced an earlier wooden side-wheel steamer that burned in 1939. Parties interested in continuing the tradition of a lake steamer purchased an old sidewheel vessel on Lake Champlain: the Chateaugay, a 203-foot (62 m), iron-hulled sidewheeler that was being used as a clubhouse for the Burlington yacht club. It was cut into sections and transported to Lake Winnipesaukee on rail cars. A new twin-screw vessel was designed for the hull being welded back together at Lakeport, New Hampshire. Powered by two steam engines taken from an ocean-going yacht, the new Mount Washington made her maiden voyage on August 15, 1940.
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.
