View source for S.S.S. Lotus

{{About|the schooner|the French steamer|Lotus case}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:S.S.S. ''Lotus''}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name         = S.S.S. ''Lotus''
| nrhp_type    =
| image        = Schooner Lotus at Mooring.JPG
| caption      = ''Lotus'' at mooring in [[Sodus Bay]], July 2007
| location     = Katlynn Marine, Inc., 7448 State Route 14,[[Sodus Point, New York]]
| coordinates  = {{coord|43|15|59|N|76|59|29|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin     = New York#USA
| built        = 1916
| architect    = Hand, William H., Jr.; Zickes, Ted
| architecture = Auxiliary Schooner
| added        = May 10, 1990
| area         = less than one acre
| refnum       = 90000694<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
}}

The '''S.S.S.''' (Sea Scout Ship) '''''Lotus''''' is a historic [[gaff rigged]] [[schooner]]. Her home port is [[Sodus Bay]] in [[Wayne County, New York]], United States. She is owned and operated by the "Friends of the Schooner Lotus."

==History of ''Lotus''==
The keel on ''Lotus'' was laid down in 1917 and the boat was completed in 1918, in [[Rocky River, Ohio]]. Designed by the [[naval architect]] [[William Hand (yacht designer)|William Hand Jr.]] in 1916, and christened with the name of ''Miss Gloucester'', she was designed as a pleasure [[yacht]] for sailing on the [[Great Lakes]].

As ''Miss Gloucester'', she was commissioned by Thomas B. Van Dorn, to be the Van Dorn family yacht. The Van Dorn family sailed her on [[Lake Erie]] and perhaps [[Lake Huron]].

In 1922, the ship was sold to Stephen Estes Comstock of [[Newark, New York]]. He moved the ship to [[Sodus Bay]], on [[Lake Ontario]], and renamed her ''Lotus'', after the wild [[Nelumbo|water lilies]] that grew in the bay.

''Lotus'' was sold again in 1938, to Dick Todd and Ken Cooley. They renamed her again, this time to ''Dickens'', a combination of their first names.

In 1943, Ezra Hale and his partners bought the ship and changed her name back to ''Lotus''. Ezra Hale and  John Trahey donated ''Lotus'' to the [[Otetiana Council]] of the [[Boy Scouts of America]] in 1971, specifying that Sea Explorer Ship (now Sea Scout Ship) 303, chartered by the Kiwanis Club of Webster, New York, be the ones to use it. The Sea Explorer Ship 303 had begun in 1965, and used a variety of power cruisers before the Lotus was donated.

Unfortunately, it was difficult to keep up with the required maintenance and by 1991 ''Lotus'' needed serious restoration. With the support of the Kiwanis Club, the money was raised for a restoration, soliciting donations from individuals and corporations. A matching funds grant was also received from [[New York State]], which brought the total amount of money raised to $150,000.

''Lotus'' was trucked to Rivendell Marine, in [[Rhode Island]], in 1991. The refit was completed in 1993. For the following 14 years, ''Lotus'' was sailed by members of Sea Scout Ship 303 around all of [[Lake Ontario]]. ''Lotus'' visited many harbor festivals and reenactments each year including [[Alexandria Bay]] Pirate Week, [[Oswego (town), New York|Oswego]] Harborfest, and reenactments in [[Sackets Harbor]]. ''Lotus'' has also participated several times in [[Operation Sail]]. In 2009 [[Otetiana Council]], BSA and [[Finger Lakes Council]], BSA merged to form [[Seneca Waterways Council]], BSA with operations centered in [[Rochester, New York]].

==Present==
{{primary sources|section|date=September 2022}}
By the end of the 2017 season, ''Lotus'' was in serious need of repair. Declining membership in Sea Scout Ship 303 resulted in the unit becoming dormant and the end of its 50-year charter relationship with the Kiwanis Club of Webster. Later that year, the unit was re-invigorated by a group of sailors and re-chartered under the Newport Yacht Club in [[Irondequoit, New York]], with the understanding that the [[Seneca Waterways Council]] would make arrangements for the care of ''Lotus''. Sea Scout Ship 303 and several caring volunteers made attempts to protect her from the elements over the next few years, but with little success. She was in a state of abandonment and deteriorated rapidly.

In 2019 the Seneca Waterways Council Scouting Historical Society began assembling a ''Lotus'' and Sea Scout Ship 303 archive. The efforts culminated in a large exhibit at the council office that opened in February 2020. By that time "The Friends of the Schooner Lotus," organized in [[Sodus Point, New York]] at the end of 2019, had begun meeting monthly. A Facebook group was created and efforts were begun to obtain ownership of Lotus. A marine survey determined that the value of the schooner was far less than the financial obligation required to store her. By that summer, several setbacks brought on by the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], legal and financial concerns, differences of opinions on restoration methods and other issues involving the owners made it seem like there was no hope of saving ''Lotus'' and that she would likely be scrapped by the end of the year.  

On December 14, 2020, an agreement was reached and ownership was transferred to "The Friends of the Schooner Lotus".  With determined efforts of the new owners over the following several days including help from Katlynn Marine, ''Lotus'' was prepared for transport. On December 21, 2020, she was trucked to Beacon Bay Marina and Cayuga Wooden Boat Works. Efforts are now underway to raise the funds necessary to begin the lengthy restoration of ''Lotus''.

==Specifications==

===Dimensions===
{{stack|[[File:Schooner Lotus Lowered into Sodus Bay, 2007.JPG|thumb|''Lotus'' lowered into [[Sodus Bay]], July 2007]]}}

*Length: {{convert|48|ft|m}} on deck, {{convert|60|ft|m}} from the tip of the bowsprit to the end of the main boom<ref name="nrhpinv_ny">{{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=10137|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Lotus |date=February 1990|accessdate=2009-06-14 |author=Mark L. Peckham|publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]]}} ''See also:'' {{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=10117|title=Accompanying five photos}}</ref>
*Beam: {{convert|12|ft|m}}, 3&nbsp;inches
*Draft: {{convert|4|ft|m}}, 9&nbsp;inches
*Weight: 16 tons (approximate)
*Total Sail Area: {{convert|950|sqft|m2}}

===Engine===
*[[Yanmar]] {{convert|88|hp|abbr=on}} four cylinder, turbo-charged diesel with sealed heat exchange

===Materials===
*Masts: [[Sitka Spruce]]
*Frames: [[Oak]]
*Original Hull Planking: Long-leaf Yellow [[Pine]]
*Replacement Hull Planking: [[Mahogany]]
*Main Deck: Vertical-grain Douglas Fir
*Cockpit Deck: Long-leaf Yellow [[Pine]]
*Original Cabin Tops: Canvas

==See also==
*[[Sea Scouting (Boy Scouts of America)]]
*[[List of schooners]]
*''[[Charles N. Curtis - Sea Scout Ship 110]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}
[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1193670 Memories of the Schooner Lotus]
"Loafing on Lotus," by C.P.H. Vary, June 1924 issue of "Yachting"

==External links==
{{Commons category|Lotus (ship, 1918)}}
*[http://www.seascout.org/about/history/photos/2002-SSSLotus-1.jpg Photo of the ''Lotus'']
*[http://www.seascout.org/ships/shipsinfo.php3?shipidin=202&title=1 Official Ship 303 page on the Sea Scouts website]
*[http://home.capecod.net/~rivendell/rivendellprojects.html#lotus Rivendell Marine ''Lotus'' Restoration, 1991]
*[http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6077896867&ref=ts SSS 303 Lotus Facebook Group, Maintained by the crew]
*{{YouTube|jf4oePxLX9o|Slideshow of Cub Scouts Sailing on ''Lotus'', September 2005}}

{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotus, S.S.S.}}
[[Category:Schooners of the United States]]
[[Category:Tall ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Youth organizations based in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Wayne County, New York]]
[[Category:Transportation in Wayne County, New York]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, New York]]
[[Category:Ships built in Ohio]]
[[Category:Sea Scouting]]