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April 2018
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boatingonthehudson.com
I
n 1906 the Mohican (I) was already showing signs of
age and the decision came from the top to replace her. Just
like with the Sagamore, a new steel-hulled vessel would be
built. The finest marine architect in the nation (at the time),
J.P. Millard, was chosen to design her. Her hull was built
in Newburg, NY by the T.S. Marvel Shipbuilding company.
After a thorough inspection her hull was dismantled and
shipped up to Baldwin (near Ticonderoga at the northern
end of Lake George) where, throughout the summer of 1907,
she was reassembled and completed. She was launched on
December 14th, 1907. The
Mohican was almost named
‘Uncas,’ but due to her close
design to the first Mohican it
was decided for her to carry
the name onward.
She was and is 117 feet long,
26.5 feet wide, and displaced
200 tons. At the time of her
launching she was powered
by 2 inverted direct-acting
Fletcher-built
compound
steam engines which turned her two propellers.
She began her duties in 1908. She ran trips to Paradise
Bay as well as running trips opposite the other steamers to
provide better service to the numerous landings, hotels, and
camps along the lake. This service would include passenger
and freight transportation.
During the Great Depression and WWII, hard times fell
upon the company which sold almost all of it’s assets. The
company had scrapped 2 of its steamers and sold off almost
all the land it owned. In fact the owner at the time even sold
off the small parcel of land underneath the dry dock (which
it uses to pull out the ships and service them), and even
today we still dont own the land right underneath the dock,
but thanks to a clause put into the deed by the owner, we can
still use the drydock however we please as long as ships
keep being brought out on it. The only ship to escape this
liquidation was the Mohican (II).
After the company had changed hands in 1946, the new
owner, Wilbur E. Dow Jr., had the Mohican hauled out of
the water and had her coal fired steam engines replaced
with diesel engines and had her wooden superstructure
replaced with a new sleek design.
The only real blemish on the Mohican’s now 104 years
of continuous service occurred on August 7, 1965. On
this day, while sailing off the
shores of Huletts Landing (in
the northern part of the lake)
she hit a rock which damaged
the hull and her starboard
propeller. She began to take
on water so quickly that her
pumps couldnt keep up. The
captain was able to quickly
offload the passengers at
the landing in Huletts before
steering her into shallow
water and beached her there. The next morning she was
pumped out and towed 15 miles north to the dry dock
where she was dragged out, repaired, and put back into
action in only 7 days.
In 1967 the Mohican was again redesigned. Her
sleek wooden superstructure was replaced with a new
steel superstructure which looked more in line with
how she looked back in the early 1900’s, it is the same
superstructure she has today.
In 1998 she had her diesel engines replaced with
2 caterpillar diesel engines which had a total of 760
horsepower.
In 2001 she once again underwent some modifications
and restorations. She had 2 new water tight bulkheads
LAKEGEORGE
STEAMBOAT
COMPAN Y
Grand Opening of
the 2018 Season
May 5th, 2018