The Steamboating Forum

I guess I should address this to Wes but I think it would be of interest to everyone.Do you know anything about SS Tahoe? She displaced 154 tons,had an overall length of 168 ft. and a beam of 17ft10in. She was scuttled in about 1940,I gather in Lake Tahoe in about 300 ft of water. Sounds like another Minnihaha! Give us an update.That info came from a 1986 Steam Gage issue which I was perusing[I never throw anything out and at my age I get to read it again for the first time! ] Thanks Wes Den

I had a huge response, but this bloody laptop navigated to the "previous page" and I lost everything

I am going to copy and paste some info for now, and will type more later... IF I let this piece of s*** live



The longest and certainly the grandest ship ever to grace the waters of Lake Tahoe was the steamer Tahoe. Commissioned by lumber baron Duane L. Bliss, the S.S. Tahoe was constructed in San Francisco in 1894, then disassembled and transported in sections by train and horse drawn wagons to the lakeshore at Glenbrook, Nevada. There the 169 foot steel-hulled steamship was reassembled and launched with great fanfare on June 24, 1896. The two steam engines each drove a huge, three-bladed propeller and developed a combined total of 1200 horsepower.

Outfitted in an elegance befitting the "Gay '90s", the steamer sported many polished brass fittings, a teak and mahogany trimmed deckhouse, and interior appointments which included leather upholstery, hand-woven carpeting, and marble lavatory fixtures. It also boasted some of the latest technological advancements of the day, including hot and cold running water in the lavatories, electric lights and bells, and steam heat. In addition to a dining room which could seat 30 people was a gentlemen's smoking lounge.

The vessel was designed to accommodate 200 passengers in luxurious comfort as well as their baggage and other freight. She carried a crew of seven, including captain, purser, steward, fireman, engineer, and two deckhands. Beginning in 1901, following completion of the new Tahoe Tavern railroad pier in Tahoe City, the Tahoe departed from that pier every summer morning carrying passengers, mail and freight that had arrived by train. The steamer made a complete circuit of the lake stopping at all the major landings and returned to Tahoe City by late afternoon. Thus the ship established itself as a vital link for the lake's residents and visitors alike, as it would not be until 1926 that a roadway for automobiles was completed around the lake.

Following the loss of much of its passenger traffic to the automobile as well as the loss of a lucrative federal mail contract in 1934, the steamer became too costly to operate and lay unused at dockside until 1940. Dismayed at the once proud steamship's deteriorating condition, William S. Bliss, son of the original owner, bought the vessel back from the company he had sold it to, and ordered it to be scuttled as a memorial to the bygone era of steam traffic on the lake. The S.S. Tahoe went to the bottom of the lake off Glenbrook in the early morning hours of August 29, 1940, and still lies there today in nearly 400 feet of water.

Footnote 1: A series of dives on the wreck of the S.S. Tahoe was completed in the summer of 2002 by New Millennium Dive Expeditions. The treacherous expedition featured the deepest scuba dive ever in Lake Tahoe and was the deepest high altitude dive ever attempted. For more information and several dramatic images of the old steamer visit their web site: http://www.boattahoe.com/new-millennium ... itions.htm

A short cheezy trailer for their dive expedition: http://www.easterfilms.com/new_millennium.htm

Footnote 2: Walter S. Hobart's former cruiser, Quit-Cha-Kiddin', which towed the Tahoe to her watery grave is currently being restored in the boathouse at the Tallac Historic Site, just west of Camp Richardson Marina.

Perfect!! There's your new years project that will surely surpass the ol' man! Gather a bunch of inner tubes,45 drums etc and refloat her! Now that's a project!! Merry X-mas Den

I wish

Back in the early '90's they dove on the wreck with an ROV, as well as exploring other places around the lake. The video is still available, but I think it's VHS only:

http://www.amazon.com/Sunken-Treasures- ... 630389013X

http://www.skyfirevideo.com/nature/sunken/

When the Bliss family scuttled the ship, they intended for her to rest at about 100ft, so she would be visible from the surface, but instead she slid down the approx 30% sandy slope till she was at about 350ft (bow) to 400ft+ (stern). It was probably for the better, as even though she rests that deep and out of sight, she has still fallen victim to plunderer's grappling hooks since at least the '70's.

Sometime back in the '70's or '80's there was a gentleman who knew of her location, who had the money and resources to begin the process of raising her. He was as far as having some of the needed equipment and permission from the TRPA (Tahoe Regional Plundering Agency) for a place on the shore to put her and restore her once on the surface. THEN it was discovered that he was embezzling from his wife, and all that work went down the drain. Since then, the work of the perviously mentioned diving group also included getting her registered as a national historic landmark. So, most likely, she will never be raised.. Or sit on the bottom until she deteriorates as much as the CSS Hunley before they consider raising her. She is all there though, they just opened the seacocks and let her slip beneath the waves.

From the drawings I have seen of her, she was powered by either twin triple-expansion engines or twin three-cylinder compounds (not likely). She had a large locomotive style HFT (horizontal fire-tube) boiler originally wood fired, being converted over to oil firing later on.

Being as narrow as she was (almost 10:1 length to breadth ratio!), she had to have ballast tanks which would be pumped with water to counter-act the effect of the passengers rushing to one side of the ship when coming into port or when adjacent to a point of interest on the lake.

I have quite a few interesting pictures of her being assembled and while on the lake.. If only I had a scanner

They say that when they scuttled her the pilot house was full of air and it floated to the surface. They say it actually floated to shore the next day in Glenbrook Bay, where she was launched. I don't know if that is true at all, but I do know that the ship's wheel is in the local museum here in South Lake Tahoe.

I just realized that my parents have a scanner!

More pictures from post cards and the book The Saga of Lake Tahoe, By E. B. Scott





Around the turn of the century in Emerald Bay, before the larger pilot house (Larger pilot house was built around 1910 or so) :



After the larger pilot house was built:






Her "last dance" :



I'll post more at a latter date.

Boy when I asked you to fill in the blanks you went overboard!! Great job on the history lesson Wes! It's amazing what has gone on in your own back yard! OK I gotta go carve the turkey! Den

Ask and you shall receive (though, not always right away).

So I was wrong.. I found a "spec sheet" of sorts for the Tahoe in The Saga of Lake Tahoe vol 2 (just got it for christmas ).

Apparently the Tahoe's engines WERE 3-cylinder compounds.. Somwhere in the range of 15"&18"&18"X12" (don't have the book in front of me at the moment), each turing a 4'X7'-ish bronze 3-bladed propellor.. Top speed 18-1/2 Knots.

I will scan it when I get a chance.

wes