Lotus, Motor yacht at Lake Union, Seattle, US

Lotus is an 85-foot motor yacht with a 12.5-foot beam, built in 1908–1909 by Joseph A. Sloane to designs by Lee and Brinton. It accommodated ten guests and four crew, and is now moored at the Historic Ships Wharf at the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle.

Built in 1908–1909 by Joseph A. Sloane to designs by Lee and Brinton for lawyer Maurice McMicken, Lotus was launched in May 1909 as the largest privately owned motor yacht on the US west coast. McMicken cruised it through Washington, British Columbia and southeastern Alaska until his death in 1940; fuel shortages kept it tied up during the Second World War, and his heirs sold it in 1947.

Lotus was built for lawyer and businessman Maurice McMicken, who cruised it through Washington, British Columbia and southeastern Alaska until his death in 1940. After wartime layup, a family lived aboard full-time at Lake Union from 1951, and Col. Curtis Gruye later ran it as a floating hotel. Today volunteers of the Motor Vessel Lotus Foundation keep it at the Historic Ships Wharf.

The vessel is located at the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle where it is available for viewing. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for uneven surfaces while walking around the moored boats.

Lotus was designed by naval architects Lee and Brinton and built by Joseph A. Sloane; its 1911 registry listed a Globe gas-distillate engine of 80 indicated horsepower and a fuel range of 1,500 miles. The U.S. Registry number was 206231 and the signal letters L.B.C.M.