Dandelion, 1872
A Eurasian plant, Taraxacum officinale, widely naturalized as a weed in North America and having many-rayed yellow flowers and deeply notched basal leaves.
Builder: ?, Boston, Massachusetts
Length: 132' 6"
Beam: 22'
Draft: 5'
Displacement: 264 tons
Cost: $16,800 purchase price
Commissioned: 1872
Decommissioned: 8 May 1878
Disposition: Sold
Machinery: steam engine; coal-fired boilers; side paddle wheels
Performance & Endurance:
Max:
Cruising:
Deck Gear: Wood derrick
Complement:
Armament: None
Tender History:
The private steamer C. W. Thomas, originally built in 1863, rebuilt and renamed Sunbeam in 1871, was acquired by the Lighthouse Service for use as a tender in May of 1871 for $16,800.00. She was renamed the Dandelion.
She was assigned to the 4th Lighthouse District and operated out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She had a new boiler installed in 1874. She was declared unfit for further service in May of 1878 and was sold later that same year.
She served as the passenger ship S. A. McCall until 1910.
Sources:
Douglas Peterson. United States Lighthouse Service Tenders, 1840-1939. Annapolis: Eastwind Publishing, 2000.