United States lightship Swiftsure (LV-83)

Swiftsure
Lightship No. 83, painted with the station name SWIFTSURE, in 2013
History
United States
Name
  • Lightship No. 83
  • Lightship WAL-508
Owner
  • U.S. Lighthouse Service (1904-1939)
  • U.S. Coast Guard (1939-1941)
  • U.S. Navy (1941-1945)
  • U.S. Coast Guard (1945-1960)
  • Northwest Seaport (1966-present)
BuilderNew York Shipbuilding Co.
Cost$85,000
Launched1904
Acquired1905
Decommissioned18 July 1960
Out of service1960
FateMuseum ship
StatusUnder restoration, on display
NotesOldest lightship afloat in the United States
General characteristics
TypeLightship
Displacement668 tons unloaded
Length129 ft 6 in (39.47 m)
Beam28 ft 6 in (8.69 m)
Draft12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Decks4
Installed power2 Babcock & Wilcox sectional headed watertube boilers arranged for oil firing
Propulsion1 double expansion 325 IHP reciprocating steam engine; auxiliary sail (pre-1931)
Sail planSchooner rig on wood spencer masts (pre-1931)
Speed9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Crew11-15 (5 officers and 6-10 men)
NotesOnly preserved lightship retaining its steam machinery and a wooden deck
Lightship No. 83 "SWIFTSURE"
United States lightship Swiftsure (LV-83) is located in Washington (state)
United States lightship Swiftsure (LV-83)
LocationHistoric Ships Wharf, Lake Union Park, Seattle, WA
Coordinates47°37′41.31″N 122°20′12.72″W / 47.6281417°N 122.3368667°W / 47.6281417; -122.3368667
Arealess than one acre
Built1904 (1904)
ArchitectNew York Shipbuilding Co.; US Lighthouse Establishment
Architectural styleRiveted steel hull with wooden decks
NRHP reference No.75001852[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP23 April 1975[1]
Designated NHL11 April 1989[3]
Designated SEATLMarch 7, 1977[2]

Light Vessel Number 83 (LV-83) Swiftsure is a lightship and museum ship owned by Northwest Seaport in Seattle, Washington. Launched in 1904 at Camden, New Jersey and in active service until 1960 after serving on all five of the American west coast's lightship stations, it is the oldest surviving lightship in the United States, the only one still fitted with its original steam engine, and the last lightship with wooden decks. LV-83 was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, and has been undergoing major restoration since 2008.[3][4][5]

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ "Landmarks and Designation". City of Seattle. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Lightship No. 83 RELIEF". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2007.
  4. ^ Delgado, James P. (July 9, 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form / Lightship No. 83 "Blunts" "San Francisco" "Relief" / Lightship "Relief"". National Park Service. Retrieved September 17, 2012. and
    "Accompanying 6 photos, from 1988 and undated". National Park Service. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  5. ^ Howe, Nathaniel (March 2015). "Fifty Years of Northwest Seaport: A Look at the Restorations of Arthur Foss and Lightship 83 Swiftsure". The Sea Chest. 48 (3): 123–135.