Topic starter
08/10/2009 3:48 am
hey all
I just happened upon a unique find on the internet. A couple of years ago I noticed a lock report on the Illinois River for the MARINA JACK II, a Bill Preston designed boat built in 1978 at Sarasota, Florida. I never could find out what happened to her and this turned up.
1978 Paddle Wheel Dinner Boat (RHH) Commercial Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com
First thing that went through my mind...the showboat dream I hatched with Mike Gentry when we were working aboard the DELTA QUEEN a couple of years ago.
Doesn't this boat look perfect to be behind a little showboat as it tramps the rivers looking for tourists and show goers? I can see a two deck showboat on a barge infront of her now. Calliope playing....entertainers chomping at the bit to get the show started about 7:30pm...on lookers lining the banks as she lands, waiting to get into line to buy tickets for the show.
Would be a beautiful sight, wouldn't it?
Travis
08/10/2009 12:24 pm
Travis,
Thanks for sharing this. They sure did a good job designing that boat to look like a steam sternwheel towboat. If it was really built on a barge, they did a great job building shear into the hull!
On another note, I'm finishing the design work on our 2010 Sternwheel Towboat fundraising calendar, and I've been able to trace the whereabouts of the old KANAWHA / BELLE CAROL to her present disposition. She still exists as a beached (non-operational) boat, but in an unlikely location, and a completely different name.