Lotus Restoration

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LOTUS NOW!

On December 14th, The Friends Of The Schooner Lotus (FOTSL) purchased the boat from the Seneca Waterways Council. On December 21st, the LOTUS was transported to Beacon Bay Marina in Cayuga for indoor winter storage and assessment. Cayuga Wooden Boat Works at the same location will provide FOTSL with estimates of a series of repairs and restorative work so fundraising can begin. CWBW is willing to begin work very soon when funds become available. Please help us get her back in the water soon!

Follow these links to the Youtube clips of the move:
Leaving Katlynn
At Beacon Bay Marina

Beginning Restoration

The Schooner Lotus grant was released in mid-December 2023. Work began immediately to explore the true nature of work needed by opening up the garboards and clearing the sole so the keel assembly would be fully exposed. This is an overview of the start of that process.

Please click on the image to start the video.

Replacing the keelson

How the keel assembly stacks up. The original keelson is still in place, but has deteriorated completely down the center of the boat. It is being supported by the keel plate which was added in 1997 and the iron ballast keel below. The entire keel assembly will be removed and the keelson replaced.

What happens when different types of metal are used in the same assembly, i.e. touching each other.
The result is "iron sickness".

Removing the Aft Cabin Top

The aft cabin houses the diesel engine. The engine must be removed so access to the keel can be created. For this reason, the cabin top needs to be removed. It was known that replacing all the superstructures would be necessary. With the top removed, a crane has access to lift the engine out of the boat.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation awarded a grant from the Environmental Protection Fund for teh restoration of the Schooner Lotus in December 2022. EPF Grant #220031 was released for construcion in December 2023.
The Schooner Lotus was purchased from the BSA Seneca Waterways Council in December 2020 and immediately brought to indoor storage at Beacon Bay Marina in Cayuga, New York. Estimates were provided by several companies, leading to the decision to write a grant application for a $365,583 project. This amount is believed to be sufficient to restore the Schoone Lotus to excellent condition. Certification by the US Coast Guard to a class "T" vessel for public use is the underlying guide to the process.
All parts of the vessel need some repair or replacement. The gallery below begins to show some of those areas.

You may stop the slider by placing your curser on a picture.

Steering Worm Gear

The Edson worm gear steering mechanism is an extremely sturdy and reliable control device. It translates therotation of teh helm (steering wheel) into horizontal motion to move the rudder back and forth. The worm gear assembly is in excellent shape and will be cleaned up and put back into service.

Removing the Engine

The Yanmar Diesel 4JH2-DTE engine of teh Schooner Lotus can develop 88 hp at 3600rpm. This reliable power plant is more than sufficient to move the ship at very respectable speeds and also provide a very good margin of safety while underway.
The engine is mounted directly above the keelson, so it had to be removed for proper inspection of that part of the keelson.
The engine will be overhauled before reinstallation.
Click HERE to watch the video.