Lilac
Thursday, October 11th, 2007
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The engine room of the steamship Lilac, during Open House New York.
“The Lilac is the last unaltered steam propelled and steam hoisting lighthouse tender designed for work on the open sea and connecting bays and sounds. She is also the last such vessel to survive that was operated by the United States Lighthouse Service, the civilian manned agency responsible for maintaining aids to navigation from 1910 to 1939, when this work was assumed by the United States Coast Guard.”
steamerlilac.org
Bunks down below where you hear the waves lap. The Lilac was a Real Estate office in 1988, mired in the mud of the St. James River. It is now in the process of being restored.
R2D2′s dad. Actually a gyrocompass, the iron hull precludes the use of a magnetic compass.
Gerry, one of the Lilac’s crew, writes: “Compasses can work in iron hulls if properly compensated. The gyro compass was for accuracy in placing the bouys in those pre-gps days.”
Radar display in the wheelhouse.
