Topic starter
30/03/2012 9:59 pm
Hey all,
It has come to my attention that my memory is not what it used to be. Some time back I remember hearing the Steamboat in the Rivers of America attraction at Disney World in Florida had to be rebuilt because the wood superstructure was failing. She was rebuilt with fiberglas and aluminum construction because the wood dried out, shrank and splintered.
The newest boat (The Skipperliner built LIBERTY BELLE) was built out of the old ADMIRAL JOE FOWLER was on the original steel hull but with aluminum and vinyl construction.
Is my memory correct about the boat having to be rebuilt because of her wooden construction in Florida? Or am I imagining that one?
Travis
31/03/2012 1:13 pm
Admiral Joe Fowler
Wikipedia notes the RICHARD F. LEVINE was rebuilt as the LIBERTY BELLE as you recall.
The Richard F. Irvine came into service on May 20, 1973 but was renamed the Liberty Belle in 1996 after everything except for the hull, boiler, and engines was stripped off, and an all-new superstructure was constructed from aluminum and vinyl.
Also according to Wikipedia the ADMIRAL JOE FOWLER met an untimely end in drydock:
Named after the retired navy admiral who was in charge of construction for Disneyland and Walt Disney World, this riverboat didn't travel the Rivers of America on opening day in 1971. It premiered a day later on October 2. It used to require a D ticket.
In 1980, The Admiral Joe Fowler was taken to dry dock for routine rehab. While the boat was being lifted by crane, it slipped and the hull was completely destroyed. The boat was then retired due to "mechanical problems". The broken boat was taken to the backstage "bone yard" for awhile before being buried somewhere on the property.
The other riverboat, the Richard F. Irvine (called the Liberty Belle since 1996) didn't debut until May 20, 1973. It was named after a Disney designer and WED executive. It is the only riverboat that currently travels the Rivers of America. The Liberty Belle supposedly has a life ring from the Admiral Joe Fowler on board for good luck.
Wesley
31/03/2012 4:48 pm
*RE: RICHARD F. IRVINE, Fred Way connection*
Hi, Travis & Wesley,
Interesting posting RE: RICHARD F. IRVINE in Disney World. I remember her well being aboard the following year 1974. Her engines authentic steam fed from the modern boiler system. The boat ran linked to a kind of cable or 'hook' system under water to keep her locked on course even with a man at her helm. Seems to me that Capt. Fred Way received a phone call from the Disney Corporation some years before the park was finished asking for information/details on their reproduction of an "authentic river steamboat." Fred supplied the data based on the JOE FOWLER. I noted the IRVINE being immaculate, fresh paint etc. on my little cruise. I'm vague, but 'think' one of the factors with Disney was the decision against the IRVINE having wood decks, structure carrying passengers even if in limited waters. If the Coast Guard then had a say I can't recall now.
Different climate zones present different variables on wood structures ashore, boats, ships on the water. I wasn't sure about the Disney boat having "...wood dried out, shrank and splintered" but possible. Property we lease in Palm Springs, California, has it's own set of variables on wood as the case with Florida's humidity etc. Any vessel requires constant checks for moisture, humidity, mold with venting and dehumidification. We saw what happened with the late MISSISSIPPI QUEEN. The steamship KEEWATIN in Douglas, MI also had venting constantly inside as do navy ships active or laid up. Formal inspection of a wood vessel also focuses on condition of wood components for maintenace or replacement. Wood is 'organic.' Fred Way used to remind us that "There was then always a couple of 'sailormen' [crew] walking around each day with sandpaper, scraper and paint touching up."
Frank Prudent and I well remember years back here in Cincinnati when a 'squib' hit the media concerning the DELTA QUEEN having "deteriorating...dry rot" in her wood. It came just before a number of us attended the stock holders meeting here. The matter was addressed with no more being said. Well, what do I know?
R. Dale Flick
Coal Haven Landing, Ohio River, Cincinnati.
31/03/2012 6:43 pm
Yes, Dale is 100% correct about some years ago after The Delta Queen Steamboat Company's annual meeting of stockholders in Cincinnati the news of rotten wood on the DELTA QUEEN hit the local papers. I also recall a mention of it in The Waterways Journal.
The whole stir was caused by a twenty some year old stockholder whom was well prepared with his comments about the DELTA QUEEN's rotten wood and how the first ISLAND QUEEN had her forward decks collapse during a marine parade up to Pt. Pleasant, Ohio.
31/03/2012 9:13 pm
Did anyone ever follow up and check to see IF the wood was rotting on DQ? How did the rumor begin???....... just because of The IQ previous rotting??
01/04/2012 4:37 am
The DQ's rotting wood was very visable to even the casual observer. I remember seeing it myself. There were times when the DQ was being run on a shoestring. The 1979 season was a rough one, and it showed with the lack of upkeep on the DQ and MQ.
01/04/2012 3:45 pm
*RE: 1st ISLAND QUEEN deck collapse/Wood repairs*
Steamboating colleagues:
Frank Prudent is correct on the most publicized incident RE: wood on the DELTA QUEEN needing replacement/repair and can assure you it was no mere "rumor." Any vessel, wood/steel/aluminum etc., requires contstant monitoring, repair during its working life. No only factors of vibration, movement, 'working of the superstrure' while underway, but all types of weather conditions. Those of you owning a frame home can appreciate that in your yearly maintenance. 'Sounding' of an iron or steel hull during inspection is something to see. The inspectors use a metal hammer moving outside/inside the iron or steel hull 'tapping, tapping, tapping.' When the hard metal sound of BANG! BANG! sounds a dull KLUNK, KLUNK, then they've hit bad metal plates or frames. These spots marked by yellow or red paint to be addressed. Wood members are probed with tools to check for hardness or when the took pokes in revealing 'soft' panels of structural members.
The DQ always has had a carpenter as part of the crew. I remermber her caprenter shop down in the engine rooom with tool, work bench, stacks of various woods on call when needed. One old timer carpenter I knew was Charile Sparka, and he was of the old school. Frank, and his late father Bill, may remember others as some of you here now who were there then. Sparka was also one fine carpenter in the art of steamboat 'joinery.' There can be 'dry rot' and 'wet rot' with wood. Even wood in desert climates experience 'dry rot' along with the work of termites and wood bettles.
The incident RE: the deck collapse of the 1st ISLAND QUEEN of 1896 [WAY'S DIRECTORY No. 227, 228 Entry No. 2799] happened during April 22, 1922, during the big centennial marking the birth of Gen. U.S. Grant. A crowd bunched on on the hurricane deck of the IQ near Pt. Pleasant, Ohio when wood members collapsed injuring 28 boys--one of them seriously. Capt. Ben I Paddison was in the pilothouse at the moment when it happened. His daugher, Sue Paddison [Later Mrs. Hoebel] was with her father. I heard plenty about the incident as Sue lived across the street from me here on Burney Lane until her 90s. Fred Way did a big story on it in an early S&D REFLECTOR. Our own late Alan Bates has commented on weight/stress factors and loads on wood and metal decks. Well, what do I know?
R. Dale Flick
Coal Haven Landing, Ohio River, Cincinnati.
01/04/2012 8:32 pm
Wet or Dry, Still Rot
As Jim and I used to refer to it when operating the all wood Graceful Ghost, chasing rot. And we chased a lot of it, always replacing the rot with treated lumber and/or some layers of fiberglas. Our second boat was all steel and aluminum, mostly aluminum, and all electric (isolated) and almost maintenance free. One learns.