Alligator (steamboat)

Alligator at Leesburg, Florida (1906 configuration).
History
Name:	Alligator
Operator:	Lucas Line
Route:	Oklawaha, St. Johns rivers
Launched:	7 Oct 1888
Fate:	Burned and sank 5 November 1909
General characteristics
Tonnage:	(1888): 27.7 gross tons (1889): 66.2 gross tons (1894): 69.6 gross tons
Length:	(1888): 57 ft (1889): 71 ft (1894): 81 ft 4 in (24.79 m)
Beam:	18 ft 7 in (5.66 m)
Draft:	3 ft 5 in (1.04 m)
Propulsion:	(1888): Steam-driven screw (1889): Recesssed stern wheel

The Alligator was an inboard paddle-wheel steamboat that operated in the interior of north central Florida in the United States from 1888 to 1909. Famed archeologist Clarence Bloomfield Moore leased the steamer each year from 1891 to 1895 for his annual excursions to explore the St. Johns River and tributaries for Native American artifacts. On November 5, 1909 the paddlesteamer caught fire and sank ending its twenty-one years of service in the passenger and freight business. In December 2008, the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program led a search of the east side of Lake Crescent for the sunken wreckage of the Alligator.

The Ocklawaha River was a primary route of transportation in north central Florida during the years after the United States Civil War until railroads reached the area. Relatively unique small steamboats evolved to service the narrow, winding river. The boats were fitted with an inboard stern paddle-wheel to aid in navigating the narrow, thickly treed, and weedy waterways.

The Alligator was constructed for Captain C. W. Howard for use in a commercial passenger and freight operation on the Ocklawaha and St. Johns rivers. On October 7, 1888, Alligator was launched on the west bank of St. Johns River at Norwalk. It measured 57 feet (17 m) long, 18 feet 7 inches wide, 3 feet 5 inches deep, and was 27.71 gross tons. Originally, a propeller was installed between two skegs under the transom. The vessel was "a patchwork of parts from other steamboats".

During the boat's twenty-one years of service, the paddlesteamer was rebuilt by several new owners. A Certificate of Enrollment issued on January 21, 1890 when ownership of the steamboat was transferred to brothers Charles B. and Benjamen Wade shows a rebuild in 1889. The paddlesteamer was now 71 feet (22 m) long, 18 feet 7 inches wide, and 3 feet 5 inches deep.It weighed 66.21 gross tons and was modified to have a recessed stern wheel instead of a propeller. According to a January 13, 1894 Certificate of Enrollment, the steamboat was enlarged to 81 feet 4 inches length with a gross weight of 69.60 tons with "an enlarged cabin deck running the full length of the boat above the boiler deck" and a larger captain's cabin. The Alligator's final rebuild occurred in 1906. The new reconfiguration made the boat more suitable for local freight and passenger trips rather than more lengthy transport. The cabins deck was removed and replaced with an open deck running half the length of the boat; with the pilot house and captain's cabin placed on that same level.