Seeandbee was designed by naval architect
Frank E. Kirby for the Cleveland and Buffalo Transit Company of
Cleveland, Ohio. She was designed for luxury overnight service between Cleveland and
Buffalo, New York, and the company's previous experience led it to require two basic design features for the ship. First was paddle propulsion which offered an increased maneuvering capability and stability in rough weather along with more space for cabins and decks. Second, was using a more expensive and much heavier compound
inclined steam engine that could develop 12,000 horsepower at low revolutions without the vibration associated with lighter vertical type steam engines. It was felt that meeting these design features would improve passenger comfort and their desire for a good night's sleep. The ship was built by the Detroit Shipbuilding Company, soon to be acquired and renamed
American Ship Building Company, of
Wyandotte, Michigan.
Seeandbee, the largest side-wheel steamer in the world at the time, was
launched on 9 November 1912. According to the
Interstate Commerce Commission the ship's tonnage was and . The interior design was by Louis O. Keil and luxury was a key element. Passengers boarded through a
mahogany paneled lobby with a
Tuscan theme. The steward's office, purser's offices, telephone booths and a stairway to the
promenade deck were protected by a
vestibule equipped with sliding doors. The main dining room, which was
aft and extended to the rear of the ship, was paneled in mahogany and white enamel. The main dining room had alcoves with bay windows that provided some relatively private dining areas for the passengers. A banquet room was on the starboard side and two private dining rooms on the port side. A staircase led to a buffet area, below the main dining room, that was decorated in the style of an old English tavern.
Seeandbee featured a main
saloon on the promenade deck that extended almost in length. This area was subdivided into sections including a book shop, flower booths, an observation room as well as separate writing rooms for men and women. A number of private parlors were constructed, each was a different design and contained beds, a private bath and balconies. When an orchestra played on its own balcony at the end of the main saloon, the music could be heard in the parlors, the saloon, above in the atrium, and in the ladies drawing room. On the gallery deck was the ladies drawing room in
Italian Renaissance style with built in seats and above, on the next deck, was an Atrium with sleeping rooms adjoining. Amidships on the gallery deck was the lounge with seating and provision for light refreshments. Passengers were accommodated in 510 rooms, of which 424 were regulation, 62 were fitted with a private toilet and 24 were "parlors
en suite" giving sleeping room for 1,500 persons and capable of carrying a total of 6,000 passengers and 1,500 tons of cargo loaded on the main deck.
Hull and engineering The ship's dimensions as built were
length overall,
between perpendiculars,
molded hull beam, extreme beam over guards with extreme depth of hull at stem being and molded depth. The hull was entirely steel with a
double bottom extending almost containing water ballast and divided lengthwise with a watertight
bulkhead and by transverse bulkheads into fourteen compartments. Above that ballast compartment the ship was divided by eleven watertight bulkheads extending from
keel to
main deck with hydraulic doors operated from the engine room. In total there were seven decks: tank top, orlop, main, promenade, gallery, upper and dome. Steel was used to the promenade deck with fire protection for beams above that level and fireproof doors provided compartmentalization and steel fire curtains in cargo spaces. For fire alarm purposes, the vessel was divided into fifty sections with fire hydrants spaced so that permanently attached hoses reached every point in the vessel and an extensive sprinkler system. Propulsion was by an inclined, three-cylinder steam engine below the main deck with only the main bearing tops, upper parts of the valves and handling levers above the main deck. The engine was unique in using a
Walschaert gear, normally used on locomotives, to drive a
Corliss gear for the two low-pressure cylinders and the
poppet type valves on the high-pressure portion. The speed guarantee of was met by the engine's at 31 revolutions per minute. The high-pressure cylinder, in diameter, was centered between the two low-pressure cylinders of diameter with steam provided by six single ended and three double ended
Scotch boilers forward of the engine room delivering steam at . The single ended boilers were inside diameter by length and the double ended boilers were mean diameter by length. The two diameter paddle wheels each had eleven steel buckets long by wide. Due to the restricted channels at both Cleveland and Buffalo additional maneuvering capability was required and a bow rudder and steam steering engine were provided. Washed air ventilation units provided fresh air for all interior spaces with exhaust fans for removal of foul air. Three steam turbines drove generator sets providing electricity for 4,500 electric lights, including the largest searchlight () on the
Great Lakes, and the ship was extensively electrified for auxiliary functions. Over 500 telephones were on board, with one in every stateroom, the officer's quarters and booths in passenger areas as part of a public system and a private system for use in ship operations. ==History==