Artist conception of the authentic canal board announced Thursday for river tours in Fort Wayne. Built in Albany, New York, it is 54 feet long, 11 feet wide with a 2-foot, 9-inch draft. It is scheduled to be launched May 1 with operations beginning by June 1.
Starting late this spring people will be able to take excursions on the city's rivers on a full-sized replica of an 1840s canal boat.
The boat, built in Albany, New York, is 54 feet long and can seat 40 people for a sightseeing tour and up to 30 people for a dinner tour or party.
"For 15 years people have been expressing a desire to have access to the rivers," said Irene Walters of Friends of the Rivers at a news conference unveiling the boat on Thursday. "Finally it's happening."
"We've tried so hard to get the rivers to flip from being an enemy to an asset," said Mayor Tom Henry. He said discussions of getting a boat started with the notion of getting a riverboat, but it wouldn't be able to get under the bridges, so the canal boat design was chosen.
The boat is patterned after a packet boat, which let people travel first class during the early to mid 1800s. It is the same design as a boat designed for a historical operation in Delphi, so it is historically accurate, but it has an aluminum hull and modern amenities such as a bathroom, a sound system and Bluetooth. It is powered by a 55 horsepower diesel.
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