Chautauqua Belle
Chautauqua Belle at the Chautauqua Institution
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Chautauqua Belle |
| Owner: | U.S. Steam Lines LTD |
| Port of registry: |  |
| Builder: | James Webster |
| Laid down: | 1974 |
| Maiden voyage: | July 4, 1976 |
| Status: | Active |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 60 Tons |
| Length: | 98 ft (30 m) |
| Beam: | 22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Draft: | 30 in (76 cm) |
| Decks: | 2 |
| Installed power: | Johnston Boiler |
| Propulsion: | Sternwheel |
| Speed: | 7 mph (11 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 120 |
| Crew: | 7 |
The steamer Chautauqua Belle is an authentic Mississippi River-style sternwheel steamboat owned and operated by U.S. Steam Lines Ltd, operating on Chautauqua Lake in Western New York.
Originally financed and built by Captain James Webster, the vessel was constructed on site in Mayville, New York, between 1974 and 1976. The Chautauqua Belle was launched in 1976 as part of Chautauqua County's celebration of the United States Bicentennial.
The Chautauqua Belle is one of only five operating authentic passenger sternwheel steamboats left in all of North America. The other four vessels are the Queen of Seattle, in Seattle, Washington; Minne-Ha-Ha at Lake George, New York, operating on Lake George; the Belle of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, operating on the Ohio River; and the Natchez in New Orleans, Louisiana, operating on the Mississippi River.
The Chautauqua Belle and the Natchez were designed by the naval architect Captain Alan Bates of Louisville, Kentucky.
The Chautauqua Belle is 98 feet (30 m) long and 22 feet (6.7 m) wide, and weighs 70 tons fully loaded. She has a 100 horsepower Scotch steam boiler aboard which supplies steam at 210 pounds per square inch (1,400 kPa) to the two 20 horsepower steam engines which turn her paddlewheel. She has a 60 horsepower Uniflow marine steam engine manufactured by Skinner Engine Company which is attached via a belt drive to a 30 kilowatt generator to provide her electricity needs. Her top speed is 7 miles per hour (11 km/h). The engines were built for the Chautauqua Belle by Harry McBride in 1975. She has a mechanical steering system with cable operation of two rudders mounted on the stern ahead of her paddlewheel.
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