QUEEN OF THE MISSISSIPPI Picture

Rather stern heavy, isn't she? And what about that tiny wheel and the Z-drive peeking around the wheel (there are two of them, one on either side of the wheel).

To be honest, I expected more.

Oh my....she won't win any beauty awards that for sure. That boat even makes the MQ look like a beauty queen!

I was going to say that back in 1976 some thought the MQ was ugly.

Very much a larger version of the Queen of The West from the exterior.

Amen, Phillip. Box on a barge and all those nice things that was said in 1976 about the MQ.

Looks kinda like a tow boat but not as pleasing to look at. Yet who am I to say...

Matthew Dow;29339 wrote: Finally, a picture of the QUEEN OF THE MISSISSIPPI under her own power (from their Facebook page). Has anyone heard what her air draft is?

I Love it and i think she is beautiful.

or..

the m/v NEW ORLEANS with a paddlewheel - anyone remember that beauty that didn't last long?

Obviously, she was designed by former Volvo engineers from the 1970's. All t- squares, and straight edges. Not a french curve to be found! What would Professor Bates have to say?

Maybe she was built with Moose proof "A" Pillars like the Volvo automobiles. Could be Moose Proof Pilot House window frames.

Now as to the Professor.....I'm certain it would be fabricated with the finest in 19th Century epitaphs. Might even make a Moose blush.

Well, she looks just like the computer drawing, so no surprise. Does look a little "draggy in the bustle" though. Wonder what engineer goofed on that one? Or maybe the fresh water tanks aren't full, etc. etc.
On a scale of 1 to 10 for beauty, I give her a -5.
Ah well, this raises the question: Does a paddlewheel actually matter to the general cruising public? Does steam matter?
(I know what matters to me, but I also know I'm not the target market either)
S'
David D.

Moose Antlers

Put moose antlers on the pilot house. Maybe she looks better from the front. Maybe it looks better on the inside. Were Volvos ever that boxy? There are boats that I could look at all day. This is not one of them.

Shoulda painted it blue. Ho hum. Typical 21st century design: all function, no style. I see it in just about everything except automobiles which mostly resemble half melted bars of soap.

Lexie Palmore;29356 wrote: Put moose antlers on the pilot house. Maybe she looks better from the front. Maybe it looks better on the inside. Were Volvos ever that boxy? There are boats that I could look at all day. This is not one of them.

Amen, and amen, Lexie....................

Here is a video showing the front of the ship.

Queen of the Mississippi Paddlewheel Installation - YouTube

Yeah, what a pity. To think of the all the money they have spent, when if directed in the right direction they could have had an authentic real time steampowered paddlewheeler. Sigh......

Judy, I remember the boat. I was actually on it. I didn't think much of it, as it was rather bland and boring. And, then it disappeared. I never knew where it went. Now, the new QoM is the modern incarnation of it. The new Queen may be somewhat patterned after the Queen of the West, but it falls short. The QoW was built by a different owner and one that perhaps better understood paddlewheel propulsion. In my opinion, the paddlewheel on the new QoM is too small. My personal guess is that they didn't want it to be too tall and hide the view from the windows. If that wheel actually does anything, I think that anyone who stands in front of those windows is going to get wet from the wheel.

in 1977 Dennis Trone told me that people don't care what kind of boat they ride on; they just want to go for a boat ride.

Au Contrair

I personally think we would not have done nearly as well as we did by having a paddlewheel on our boat. We made sure every picture of the boat was of the stern. Even our competition, pontoon boats, benefited from our presence by taking our overflow and by lying to people and telling them that their boat was the steamboat. We got more statewide attention than any other Texas tour boat ever came close to getting. OUr passengers weren't, for the most part, steam nuts, but they benefited from the wonderful sounds, or the lack thereof, of steam engines. So then the steam power became a secondary attraction. We had a hefty repeat business. The current owner of the Ghost is doing even better than we did.

That may be true for some people, but not all, as we can readily see on this board. Of course there were those who would ride the JBS and when visiting the engine room, would tell their kids that "this is a really good fake". Those who knew would travel many miles to ride her. Those who did not care will ride anything they can afford. Denny did pretty well with his pretty little steamboat while others' businesses have withered and died.

We had 'em all, from little old ladies on a church outing to a boat load of steam buffs. The key ingredient was that we got publicity because the uniqueness of our boat attracted attention. Journalists are always looking for something different. And people woul read or see on tv features about our boat, as well as the swamp we paddled around in, and want to give it a try. Once people took the tour, they got infected, and would come back for more. They really didn't know what was happening. It is a subliminal thing. Occasionally someone would get on board and express surprise that it was really steam. I wanted to find out why this big group of Mennonites kept coming back, but I didn't. I was just glad to see them.

When I mentoned about Denny Trone's statment that people didn't care about what kind of boat they rode I didn't say that I agreed with him, which I don't. I have stood for great lengths of time at the stern of the Belle of Louisville watching and listening to the wheel. To me it has a relaxing, almost hypnotizing effect. I'm sure it has the same efect on many others, too.