Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler

97014 Cascade Locks, OR, United States of America (USA) (Oregon )

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Tourist sternwheelers of Oregon

Since the early 1980s, several non-steam-powered sternwheel riverboats have been built and operated on major waterways in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, as river cruise ships used for tourism. Although configured as sternwheelers, they are not paddle steamers, but rather are motor vessels that are only replicas of paddle steamers. They are powered instead by diesel engines.
In the case of the 1983-built M.V. Columbia Gorge, the construction and operation of a tourist sternwheeler was led by local government officials who viewed the idea as potentially being a major tourist attraction, giving an economic boost to their area, Cascade Locks, Oregon.

Background

The only operational sternwheel steamboat surviving in Oregon is the Portland, moored at Portland, Oregon, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the Portland is a tugboat and has never carried passengers on a regular basis. In the late 19th century and first part of the 20th century, a large number of passenger steamboats – both sternwheelers and sidewheelers – were operated on the rivers of Oregon and Washington, with many examples on the Willamette and also many on the Columbia River. However, with no such vessels surviving and operational in the late 20th century, interest in building and operating replicas began to develop, now geared towards attracting tourists with excursion travel, or river cruises.

Columbia Gorge

The M.V. Columbia Gorge is a 145-foot (44 m) sternwheeler in service on both the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. She was built in Hood River by Nichols Boat Works and was launched on August 30, 1983.
The motors driving her 17-foot (5.2 m) paddle wheel are diesel-powered. She was partially modeled on the 1890-built Bailey Gatzert and is named for the Columbia River Gorge. She was built for the Port of Cascade Locks, at a cost of around $2.5 million. After some delay in obtaining certification from the U.S. Coast Guard, Columbia Gorge took her maiden passenger voyage on October 29, 1983.
The Port's plans were for the boat to operate on the Columbia River, out of Cascade Locks, during summer months and on the Willamette River, out of Portland during winter months.
Her design includes simulated hog chains, described in 1983 by The Oregonian as "upright posts on the top deck [which were] used on vintage boats to keep the hulls from vibrating and the wooden boats from warping", but which on this vessel are for appearance only. She is certified to carry up to 599 passengers.

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