MINNE-HA-HA
The Steamship Paddlewheeler Minne-Ha-Ha
HISTORY |
Sailing
Schedule  |
The steam calliope on her top deck plays merrily, powered by steam from the MINNE-HA-HA's own boiler. Built in 1969 on Lake George, the MINNE-HA-HA is an authentic steamboat whose engine room is glass-enclosed so passengers can actually see the engine working. The whistle blows. The bright red paddle wheel dips into the crystal clear waters of Lake George. All aboard!
In 1968, the American public was moving at a quicker tempo than ever before. Vacationers, especially those with children, expressed interest in shorter trips, but the Steamboat Company's existing boats, the Mohican and Ticonderoga, could not be diverted to hourly runs. A third ship was needed. Company President Wilbur Dow believed that the new vessel should be an attraction in itself and should employ steam propulsion. Logically, a steamer might follow the side-wheel tradition of the old lake boats. But the proposed boat was to be roughly 100-feet in length, and a side wheeler so short would appear ungainly. Thus plans were set in motion to construct a sternwheel steamer in the mold of the Mississippi Riverboats. Due to the difficulty of bringing a ship overland into the lake, it was decided that the Company would undertake the construction using its own men and facilities.
Great care went into the planning of the new ship. The hull was designed by the H.M. Tiedemann Co. of New York City, after considerable discussion with Captain Frederick Way, the
famous riverboat authority of Swinkley, PA. The first hull plates were laid on the dry dock at Baldwin on October 2, 1968 and construction proceeded during the fall under the supervision of James A. Marvel, the marine superintendent. On December 6, the hull was launched and towed to Lake George Village by the Mohican. Work on the superstructure continued into the spring of 1969.
Diligent search and extensive advertising in marine periodicals throughout the Untied States failed to turn up any existing horizontal engines that would be suitable to propel a sternwheeler in the traditional way in which these vehicles were driven, It became necessary to engage the services of Frederick H. Semple of Saint Louis, MO, who designed and constructed both the engines and the 12-foot diameter paddlewheel. Specifications called for a boiler producing 6,000 pounds of steam per hour, which in turn would produce a little more than over 200 horsepower, ample for the main engines and auxiliaries. The
boiler was manufactured by the international Boiler Works of East Stroudsburg, PA. Before shipment, the
entire boiler was sheathed in stainless steel. The engine room, with auxiliaries, is in a sunken area three feet below the main deck aft. The area is surrounded by glass through which passengers may watch the equipment operate and the engineer respond to bell signals from the pilot house. These bells were removed from an old Hudson River sidewheeler built about 1910.
On July 30 1969, to the harmonies of a riverboat jazz band, Mrs. Ruth Dow swung a bottle of champagne against the ship’s jackstaff and christened her the Minne-Ha-Ha in keeping with the tradition of perpetuating the old steamer names. Minne-Ha-Ha means "laughing waters" and was the name given to the wife of the famous Indian chief, Hiawatha. On August 1, the Minne
began daily service with seven popular hourly trips each day.
In May of 2008, the Minne-Ha-Ha will enter her
thirty-ninth consecutive year in service. Her popularity, in particular with families and young children, has not diminished over the years. Her one-hour cruises, fully narrated and close along the lake’s shoreline, are certainly the most pleasant and interesting manner of understanding and enjoying summer activities on "The Queen of American Lakes." |
