P.A. Denny on the move

I always loved the Brabara H, from the good ole days of the Regatta in Charleston. 1980 -86 So amny of the old boats I dont get to see anymore.

hey Tom they still have the regatta dont they? on Labor day weekend?

Mel,

It was for the 1984 Worlds Fair at New Orleans...and she looks great there in the New Orleans harbour!

As I am sure you all are tired of hearing, the PA DENNY was the first boat I got a pay check on back in 1978....I always light up when I see that pretty little sternwheeler!

~Travis~

Mel,

Actually, it isn't about the river and the boats anymore...a couple of boats attend. It is about the concerts and activities up on the hill.

A Labor Day Family Affair

Look at their site...it is sad there is no mention of boats at all!

Capt. Nelson Jones ran the last of the true sternwheel regattas at Charleston...it was the 30th and pretty much final one. I was blessed to have been there. I was there for the 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, and 2001 Regattas...then it pretty much came to a halt as far as the boats were concerned. Now the boats go to Point Pleasant, WV that weekend.

~Travis~

No, its gone so far down to a concert. I was there when we had the beach boys and many top bands. Mayor Chuck Gardner, rest his sole, was great for it. Nelson Jones made it happen from a water stand point.

Ok Travis thanks I wasnt sure.

thanks for that too Travis I think 99 was the last year for me. well I like Pt. Pleasant better anyway.

Well Tom as long as they are still have the "short stacks" somewhere thats all that matters. Doesnt Marietta have one too?

Northbound on Cannelton pool...

FYI - The PAD is northbound again, coming thru Cannelton Lock & Dam at about 10 AM this morning.

Well, the P.A. DENNY was upbound here at our landing at 8 AM this morning! I happened to go down at 7:50 AM to check the furnace and engineroom temperature on the BARBARA H. They had come thru McAlpine yesterday around noon, so I knew they would be by today sometime, but wasn't expecting to see them so early. It was so early that I didn't even take my camera down with me. My dad got a few distant shots with his little camera. I'll post those later. They were running a day late, so they could not stop.

Talked to Capt. Trainor on the radio. He said they were hoping to reach our landing last night, but ran out of daylight at Madison, and shoved-in at Payne Hollow again.

-Steve

Here are a few long-distance photos from a cheap camera...

They are running her so fast, I wonder why? Do you know how many RPM they are doing and why?

Tom,
I don't know exactly why, but it was 25 degrees the morning they were headed back home, and someone told me the PAD has A/C, but no heat. They were probably wanting to get home, as they were running a day late for some reason. I don't know why they were running flat-out going south to Owensboro, except maybe the daylight hours are so short now.

Does the PAD have a double or triple roller chain? We've got a large double roller chain on the Barbara H (former Donald B) which was put on by Capt Ray Brookbank in 1942.

I had hoped to get aboard the PAD at the 2000 Charleston Regatta, but was not able to. So I was really looking forward to them stopping here and getting some photos!

-Steve

Tripple chain and I understand them wanting to get home. The PAD had electric wall heaters in the cabins and pilot house but no A/C. Do you have any idea of the price to buy the PAD? even a guess???

I haven't heard that it is for sale. I've watched prices on sternwheelers for years, but I could only guess about the PAD... Assuming the hull and engine are good, and a COI for (250?) passengers, I would guess the market might pay just under $500K for it. That's because the market is very soft for sternwheel excursion boats. Very soft. In a good economy, maybe $800K(?). Building it new would of course be way over a million$. If it needs hull work, it would be tough to sell it at any price. Although steel prices have come down some recently.

Article on what the P.A. Denny was doing @ Owensboro

Kentucky Post article link

Is the boat running regular excursions out of Cincinnati or is it just for school groups?

It is operated by the non-profit ORSANCO water quality organization for public education purposes (mainly school groups). Someone else can probably answer this better, but I think it runs some public excursions in the summer out of Cincinnati, and income goes to the non-profit. B&B Riverboats (Al Bernstein) provides much of the harbor service that the boat requires. They did run excursions at the 2006 TallStacks. Here is the ORSANCO web site: www.orsanco.org .. that's about all I know.