Does it get any better

Sounds like you're having as miserable a time in NOLA as I do... did you introduce yourself and get up to the pilothouse? I presume you at least did the engine room tour. If Scotty was the Chief, he knows that boat better than anyone - he was on the Bergeron shipyard crew which built her in Braithwaite, and then joined the NATCHEZ when she came out. He was instrumental in convincing the CG that the midship bulkhead on the boiler deck could come out without problems... there isn't a better Dixieland band left in New Orleans than the Dukes of Dixieland, and we were lucky to get them as the house band back in '94. Hope the rest of your Crescent City stay is as great as last night!

Didn't find anyone to give me the tour or let me up to the pilothouse. Didn't find any "Save the Delta Queen" buttons, although I was told there was one crew member with one. Didn't get the name of the man on the throttle- he was much too occupied with three young ladies to talk to an old coot like me. I introduced myself to the lady in the gift shop, but never encountered any of the officers where I could meet them. Still it was great to be on board and on the river. We actually stayed in Mandeville on the north shore and only came into NO that one day. I spent most of the week at the LSU library in Baton Rouge doing steamboat research. Did go to the Pontcartrain Basin Maritime museum in Madisonville. Good little museum covering the watercraft used on the lake. One of the regular passenger boats from NO to the north shore was a walking beam sidewheeler in the pattern of Ticonderoga. Not many of those down south. Just as in the week you were there, it rained every day. That was expected and didn't make no never mind. We enjoyed ourselves.

Forgot to mention how impressed I was with the engine room layout. You could see everything and it looked like you could actually get to most of it for maintenance. Also what a smooth job the pilot did undocking and landing.

Unlike some boats which use Homeland Security as the reason for no Engine Room visits, the NATCHEZ encourages them. Of course, there are no steep steps to get to the room and it is very open and so not at all dangerous to approach. They have made many poster-sized charts and diagrams explaining the workings of the steam machinery. In fact, I gave Kevin Mullen pix of the display setup so the BELLE had something to guide them in doing their Engine Room postings. The gentleman Hank referred to as talking to the ladies and not having time for him was not the Chief Engineer - it was James, the oiler, who is well-known for his talkativeness, especially with the females. I'm sorry Scotty or Juan weren't in sight, because they are glad to talk about the machinery.

I will second Judy's observation on Scotty, he was most open to talking about the machinery with me--in fact, one of their engine room crew had quit that morning, and he offered me a job! Had a ticket for the DQ the next day or I might have been really tempted!! ( I had waited some 34 years for that trip, so I wasn't about to abort!)
I will also second or third or fourth the wonderful layout of the engine room and explanations for visitors; a very fine job of interpretation.
S'
David D.
PS, Hank, I even brought cookies and didn't make it into the pilothouse either! Rats. . . But you did get to meet Susan in the gift shop, she's a very personable friendly person.
And the BEST catfish I ever had was onboard--the bread pudding wasn't bad either (but I think I've mentioned that before!).

I was afraid that after dinner they might have to roll me off the boat because I was to stuffed to walk. Amen to the bread pudding, one of my favorite foods at any time. I didn't mean to imply any in-attention or discourtesy on the part of any of the crew- everyone was very pleasant, just very busy. They didn't know me from Bubba and I am not about to take up the time and attention of someone who has a job to do. (Although James was somewhat otherwise distracted)

Hank, Judy - Can you tell me anything about the Walking beam sidewheeler you mentioned in post #3 of this thread? Name? Is the engine functional? How large? Any history? I didn't know there was anything like that down there - its got to be a replica.

John,
It may be the Tule Princess (0riginal name, not the same now, I understand), originally built for trade in Petaluma, CA. Genuine steam propulsion with a genuine walking beam engine, about 35' long, I think, been a long time since I was onboard, probably 12 years now! Was often at the B& W delta steamboat meet (photo from 2006 meet)
S'
David D.

I'm sorry John, but the original boat is long gone, only photos remain. Her name was Camelia, I think. I was surprised to find that a boat of that type even existed in the NO area. She was used for passenger service from NO to Mandeville and Madisonville. I don't know if the museum has a website, but they might have more information.

This should take you to a photo of the New Camelia.

LOUISiana Digital Library : Item Viewer

Here is a post card of her.

New Camilia on Lake Pontchartrain