2008 Steamboat Calendar: "Excursion Boats" available

My check is in the mail! I love that cover photo of the deck of the Str. CAPITOL, showing the "signature" Streckfus railing that was used on many of their old boats. I have a small section from the CAPITOL that Ruth Ferris rescued off the St. Louis levee when the boat was scrapped in the late 1940's. Thanks for yet ANOTHER terrific calendar!

Keith,
Thanks, in the cover photo you can also see where they stowed many of the CAPITOL's wooden "life boards" for the Texas Deck -- under the benches!

One of the unique artifacts in Ruth Ferris' Midship Museum aboard the Str. BECKY THATCHER at St. Louis was a heavy wooden life float from the CAPITOL which had TWO sets of hand holes. Faintly visible was stencilled STR. CAPITOL. I remember seeing this same stencil across the back of some old wooden deck chairs still in use aboard the Str. PRESIDENT at New Orleans as late as the early 1970's. The big pilotwheel from the CAPITOL now resides outdoors, mounted on the side of a building at the Museum of Transport in St. Louis.

I well recall when there were stacks of wooden life floats stowed on the hurricane deck of the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE, under the skylight roof. Capt. Roddy Hammett painted the top one on the stack diagonally with red, white and blue, featuring a fouled anchor between the hand holes. Then, he painted ONLY the top, side and bottom of the others in the stack! It looked very steamboaty, but the Coast Guard vetoed those floats and they all were relegated to the wharfboat RENOWN, where they got used for various purposes and gradually disappeared. Many of those floats were covered with, not only numerous dates stamped upon them from previous inspections, but also bore the stencils of the STR. IDLEWILD and STR. AVALON.

Here are two views in the Midship Museum, taken in 1967 by Ruth Ferris while the museum was still under construction, which show the CAPITOL life float with two sets of hand holes, as well as a float from the Str. MISSISSIPPI. The small stairway exhibited three cast iron treads from the Str. BETSY ANN. The third image, taken in 1969, is museum curator and beloved St Louis river historian, Miss Ruth Ferris.

Keith,
Approximately when did the Coast Guard officially "outlaw" the use of those wooden life floats and require life rings and/or cork vests, etc? 1940s? We still have 4 of the wooden life floats hanging on the Barbara H for show.

Steve: Not sure exactly WHEN the Coast Guard outlawed them. They were removed from the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE in the early 1970's. I wonder how many people, who otherwise would have survived a sinking or falling overboard, were knocked senseless and drowned after being struck in the head by one of those life floats?! I have balsa wood floats from the ADMIRAL and PRESIDENT that are as light as a feather. Another I have from the Str. MISSISSIPPI is very HEAVY -- probably because she was a government boat and no expense was spared! Capts. Jim Blum or Alan Bates might be able to help with information on when wooden life floats were banned.

The wooden floats were banned before I came to the Belle of Louisville in 1963. We had hundreds of them. Fortunately C. W. Berkman was port captain and he permitted us to phase them out. Chief Petty Officer Ronald Jacobs would condemn fifty or so and we would buy vests to replace them. They were the handy boards for all uses. We laid them over hull frames to keep our feet dry. We used them for cribbing under machines, etc. I made license frames of some. I may still have a few pieces around here. They were white pine, reasonably light.
Ronald Jacobs once remarked that the old-time steamboats were designed to fall apart to provide debris to float ashore on. Blinds (shutters) were on pintles, not hinges so they could be lifted free and used as floats.
Quite a few of them were lettered for the Gordon C. Greene and Avalon, no doubt acquired with the GCG's boilers in the mid-1950's. The Belle used to be a sort of museum of other boats' artifacts. We had the stage from the G. W. Hill, the Betsy Ann's auxiliary boiler, the Gordon C. Greene's boilers and feed pump, etc.

Thank you Alan! I remember how it broke Roddy's heart, after painting MANY of the life floats so fancifully, to have the CG decree that ALL of them had to be removed from the BELLE.

I also recall that many of them were used as planks to keep from wading in the mud from the wharfboat RENOWN -- all the way out across the parking areas to River Road, during and following the spring, 1972 flood -- back in those days when the BELLE operated out of Cox Park during those years (1970-72) that our new and "modern" riverfront was being constructed to replace the historic and logical cobblestone wharf.

I never got to see the "Belle" operation during the Cox Park years. Did she land against the "Renown" or tie up and poke her stage ashore?

We landed forward of the RENOWN, with the stern of the BELLE lying outside (and made fast to) the wharfboat, same way as at the foot of Fourth Street BEFORE the new wharf was built. Passengers boarded over the stage. This arrangement made it easier to back out and to come in for landings.

My calendar arrived in Saturday's mail. As usual, it is of superior quality. Every steamboat buff and buffette should have one! Thanks, Steve and Barbara!

Just a reminder that our 2008 Steamboat Calendars are still available and make great holiday gifts.

Special thanks to Judy Patsch for providing 10 photos for the '08 calendar, and Dale Flick for providing the 2 Island Queen photos. One other photo comes from the Capt. Leon Ash collection.

Icing on the Cake

Steve and Barb,

Yes, my two Steamboat Calendars did arrive safely at the Rabbit Hash Shipyard Aurora branch office. Thanks, again for another calendar year to look forward to and turning each page only as another new month rolls by.

A most unusual way of viewing the calendar that is a test of my will power-- akin to starting the WaterWays Journal at the beginning and refraining from immediately turning to Captain Alan's Old Boat Column first before the trade news. As much as I may want to, in either case, I struggle to abstain from eating the icing off the cake.

Those classy riverboat calendars really add style to any wall, and I can't imagine not having one, two, or even more.

A nice bonus on the calendar is Steve's inclusion of info about the featured boat on the calendar page...and Shipyard, I'll guarantee that when you finally see the December pix, that it will be one brand new to you. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that probably Jerry Canavit would be the only .orger who might have seen that one previously...

Sounds exhilarating. Only twelve more months to wait. Oh, the anticipation! Betcha has something to do with the AVALON.

Hi All,

I cheated and hung my calendar up in my office at work last week. It's amazing what a conversation piece it is. Numberous people have come in my office and taken the calendar down off the wall to look at the pictures after January's picture sparked their interest. Sorry Shipyard, you have more will power then me or my office mates when it comes to looking at the calendar photos and their commentary. Capt. Steve told me the other day that there's still plenty of calendars available. For those who haven't bought one yet, buy one, hang it up in a prominant place, and wait for the interesting responses to come in by all those who visit. Thanks also to Judy and Dale for contributing some wonderful photos for this years calendar. The calendar truly is a great product for a really great cause.

Thanks for your support..... and continued calendar purchases!!!

Aaron

Just a final note that we still have a batch of 2008 calendars in stock, but they are going fast. There may be a brief feature on the calendar in the December(?) S&D Reflector. (We hope!)

Thanks again to those who have already purchased!