Local man hopes to put submarine in Atascadero Lake

Posted: Mar 19, 2010 7:50 AM by Bill Halter
Updated: Mar 19, 2010 7:50 AM

Submarine rides on Lake Atascadero? Believe it or not, it could happen in the future.

A local man wants to put a replica of a World War II sub in the water there. He pitched the idea to the Parks and Recreation Commission Thursday night, hoping the idea would float with city leaders.

During the tail end of combat in World War II the S-44 United States submarine was sunk by the Japanese off the coast of Alaska. Ten years to the day after that happened, a Los Osos man was born. "I was fascinated by submarines," Lloyd Reeves said.

Eight years ago, Reeves built a replica of the S-44. It's about a quarter of the size of the real thing and it doesn't go underwater, but it has all the same features when you view it from above water. Inside is a mini-museum of sorts.

"When you go down below, there's actual photos, reprints from World War II. When the original S-44 was sunk, they sent telegrams home to all the families letting them know their sons were lost and I have one of the original telegrams," Reeves said.

Reeves wanted to put the sub in Lake Atascadero after he built it in 2002, but some people were uncomfortable with the idea because of the boat's size and its military theme. "If they still don't want it, that's fine. I'll just leave it in storage for another year. If they're interested in having it, I'd enjoy putting it there," Reeves said.

Atascadero resident Malcolm Stafford says, "I think it would be wonderful. This lake has a lot of people that walk around it and it would be good for the kids."

On Thursday evening, the Parks and Recreation Commission voted 4-2 to move the idea forward. It will then go before the City Council, who will vote on it in May.

The main sticking point in this debate is that the city code will have to be changed for the sub to be allowed on the lake. Currently, boats are not allowed to have motors greater than one horsepower. The sub has more than seven times that.