SSS Lotus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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SSS Lotus
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Lotus at mooring in Sodus Bay, July 2007
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Katlynn Marine, Inc., 7448 State Route 14,Sodus Point, New York |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1916 |
| Architect | Hand, William H., Jr.; Zickes, Ted |
| Architectural style | Auxiliary Schooner |
| NRHP reference No. | 90000694 |
| Added to NRHP | May 10, 1990 |
The SSS (Sea Scout Ship) Lotus is a special old boat called a gaff rigged schooner. A schooner is a type of sailing ship with at least two masts. The Lotus calls Sodus Bay in Wayne County, New York, United States, its home. Today, a group called "Friends of the Schooner Lotus" owns and takes care of her.
Contents
History of the Lotus Schooner
Building the Lotus
The Lotus was first built in 1917 and finished in 1918. This happened in Rocky River, Ohio. A famous naval architect named William Hand Jr. designed her in 1916.
She was first named Miss Gloucester. She was made to be a fun boat, or yacht, for sailing on the Great Lakes.
Early Owners and Name Changes
The Miss Gloucester was built for the Van Dorn family. They sailed her on Lake Erie and maybe Lake Huron.
In 1922, a man named Stephen Estes Comstock bought the ship. He moved her to Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario. He then gave her the name Lotus. This name came from the beautiful wild water lilies that grew in the bay.
The Lotus was sold again in 1938 to Dick Todd and Ken Cooley. They changed her name once more, calling her Dickens. This name was a mix of their first names.
The Lotus and the Boy Scouts
In 1943, Ezra Hale and his friends bought the ship. They changed her name back to Lotus. Later, in 1971, Ezra Hale and John Trahey gave the Lotus to the Otetiana Council of the Boy Scouts of America. They wanted Sea Explorer Ship 303 to use the boat. This group, now called Sea Scout Ship 303, had been using other boats since 1965.
By 1991, the Lotus needed a lot of work to fix her up. It was hard to keep up with all the repairs. With help from the Kiwanis Club, people raised $150,000 for a big restoration. The state of New York State also gave money to match the donations.
The Lotus was taken to Rivendell Marine in Rhode Island in 1991. The repairs were finished in 1993. For the next 14 years, Sea Scout Ship 303 members sailed the Lotus all around Lake Ontario.
The Lotus visited many harbor festivals and special events. These included Pirate Week in Alexandria Bay and Harborfest in Oswego. She also took part in events in Sackets Harbor. The Lotus even joined Operation Sail several times. In 2009, two Boy Scout councils joined together to form the Seneca Waterways Council.
The Lotus Today
By the end of the 2017 sailing season, the Lotus needed serious repairs again. The Sea Scout Ship 303 group became less active. A new group of sailors helped restart the unit later that year. They hoped the Seneca Waterways Council would help take care of the Lotus.
Sea Scout Ship 303 and other volunteers tried to protect the boat from bad weather. But it was difficult, and the Lotus started to fall apart quickly.
In 2019, the Seneca Waterways Council Scouting Historical Society began collecting information about the Lotus. They created a big exhibit in February 2020. Around the same time, "The Friends of the Schooner Lotus" group started meeting. They created a Facebook group and worked to get ownership of the Lotus.
A boat inspection showed that the Lotus was worth much less than the cost to store her. By the summer of 2020, many problems made it seem like the Lotus could not be saved. These problems included the COVID-19 pandemic, money issues, and disagreements about how to fix her. It looked like she might be scrapped.
But on December 14, 2020, an agreement was made. Ownership of the Lotus was given to "The Friends of the Schooner Lotus." The new owners worked hard to get the Lotus ready for moving. On December 21, 2020, she was moved by truck to Beacon Bay Marina and Cayuga Wooden Boat Works. Now, efforts are underway to raise money to start the long process of restoring the Lotus.
Specifications of the Lotus
Dimensions of the Schooner
The Lotus being lowered into Sodus Bay, July 2007
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Here are some facts about the size of the Lotus:
- Length: She is 48 feet (15 m) long on her main deck. From the front tip (bowsprit) to the end of the main boom, she is 60 feet (18 m) long.
- Beam: Her width, or beam, is 12 feet (3.7 m), 3 inches.
- Draft: The part of the boat that is under the water, called the draft, is 4 feet (1.2 m), 9 inches deep.
- Weight: She weighs about 16 tons.
- Total Sail Area: All her sails together cover about 950 square feet (88 m2) of space.
Engine Details
- The Lotus has a Yanmar engine. It is an 88 hp (66 kW) four-cylinder diesel engine. It is turbo-charged and has a special cooling system.
Materials Used to Build the Lotus
- Masts: Her tall masts are made from Sitka Spruce wood.
- Frames: The main structure of the boat, called frames, are made of Oak.
- Original Hull Planking: The first outer layer of the boat's body was made from Long-leaf Yellow Pine.
- Replacement Hull Planking: Parts of the outer layer that were replaced are made of Mahogany.
- Main Deck: The main deck is made from Vertical-grain Douglas Fir wood.
- Cockpit Deck: The deck in the cockpit area is made from Long-leaf Yellow Pine.
- Original Cabin Tops: The original tops of the cabins were covered with canvas.
See also
- Sea Scouting (Boy Scouts of America)
- List of schooners
- Charles N. Curtis - Sea Scout Ship 110
