This article's
lead sectionmay be too short to adequately
summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to
provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article.(January 2011)
Lake steamers of North America include 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:
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 wooden screw steamers.
MV Mount Katahdin—The
MV 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.
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. The ship has been renovated multiple times, including several upgrades to the ship power plant, and hull extensions added to lengthen the ship.[1][2]