'Miss Lotta' Makes a Return, of Sorts, to Lake Hopatcong

In a new initiative by area developer Béla Szigethy, the largest boat on Lake Hopatcong, formerly known as the Southern Belle, has been rechristened Miss Lotta, AIM Jefferson reported. 


The boat, a 30-ton, 55-feet-long cruiser re-named in honor of Lotta Crabtree, a 19th-century entertainer who spent her summers on the lake, was recently returned to Lake Hopatcong. It will be refurbished this winter and placed back into service next year, the article said. Among the improvements will be a newly built dining area and kitchen, dance floor, bars, rest rooms, sound system and crew quarters. An eco-friendly element is part of the plan as well, as the project calls for the inclusion of a solar awning to gather power and make the watercraft less dependent on shore power and energy-efficient LED lighting. 

The boat, a former dinner cruiser constructed in 1990, operated in Virginia until recently. A new company, Lake Hopatcong Cruises, LLC, will manage the restored vessel's operations in an effort to make the Miss Lotta the nation's most advanced dinner cruiser.