  Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 757 Registered: 11-2005 |
A haunted house in June sounds lame to me, but whatever. It'll just be good to walk her once more. It'll be good to have her back in Detroit where she belongs. She's supposed to stay out until going in dry storage for restoration Nov. 9. More in Tuesday's Detroit Free Press. from: www.bobloboat.com: "Great News !!! The Bob-Lo Boat Ste. Claire is returning to Detroit on June 22nd and will be docked at Tri-Centennial State Park. This will begin phase one of the restoration project. The Ste. Claire will take part in the Detroit River Days Festival from June 22nd through June 27th. There will be guided tours of the ship, a souvenir stand on board and a haunted house on the third deck. For a map and turn by turn directions to Tri-Centennial State Park go here. As part of the tour, the Ste. Claire will have a gallery featuring Bob-Lo artifacts and souvenirs. If you would like your personal items displayed, please call 248-933-9500. All items will be cataloged and returned to the owner. A total of 25 volunteers are needed to be actors for the third deck haunted house. Hours are from 6 pm till midnight June 22 and 23rd, 6 pm till 10 pm June 24,25 and 26. Hours on June 27 are from 6 pm till 9:30 pm. At 10 pm, all volunteers are welcome to view the Freedom festival fireworks from the fourth deck of the Ste. Claire. The second deck ballroom will be available for dancing and a chance to relax and enjoy a nice meal. The second deck will also be available to rent out for parties. Prices and hours of operation can be found on the Events page. Come on down and be a part of the return of a Detroit legend !!!" | ||
Mallory Member Username: Mallory Post Number: 120 Registered: 05-2006 |
How I wish I was back home! If anyone goes to this, please post some pics. I worked on the Bob-lo boats during the summer of '84 as a DJ and have fond memories of the old girls. The best memory was when the ship would leave Detroit early, go to the island, drop people off, then head back to Detroit for another load. We would sit up on the top deck and catch some rays on the way back. They were glorious old boats and I miss them. BIG thanks for the info. | ||
El_jimbo Member Username: El_jimbo Post Number: 198 Registered: 12-2006 |
damn! Why does my cousin have to get married in Manhattan on THAT weekend!? | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 5348 Registered: 11-2004 |
It'll be mighty impressive to see that boat on the river again. It'll bring back some memories for a lot of us who took those rides up & down the River. | ||
Aarne_frobom Member Username: Aarne_frobom Post Number: 56 Registered: 10-2005 |
I got on board the Ste. Claire during the Society for Industrial Archeology's tour of Detroit in fall, 2005. Sorry I've got no pictures to post, but I can tell you the boat did not look too bad. I've seen a lot of crummy buildings and transportation hardware in my day, and by comparison the Ste. Claire looked pretty good. The owners as of 2005 seemed to have performed quite a bit of sound work. The upper decks had new canvas and deck paint, and most of the ship was painted. There wasn't a lot of obvious rot and corrosion, and not much evidence of leakage in the interior spaces. (At least not that I could see past the halloween theatrical junk.) I'm sure there is still a lot of woodwork to renew, though, probably many hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth. The previous owner gave a short lecture on his plans to bring the boat back into Coast Guard compliance, and indeed, the ship was open as a halloween attraction under Coast Guard rules. I think I recall that the hull had been inspected and repaired. From the Free Press article it sounds like the current owner intends to adhere to this plan. Of course, the big milestones will be restoring the upper works, reactivating the steam plant, and hiring a certificated crew. And finding a hospitable base of operations. But I say, Go for it. Maybe the Bob-Lo Boat can be the one Detroit icon we don't lose. | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1729 Registered: 11-2003 |
Here's the Free Press article... http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll /article?AID=/20070605/BUSINES S06/706050315 | ||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 1768 Registered: 11-2003 |
This is a great pr move by the new owners and will be well received by all Detroiters. Plus a chance to make a few bucks for continued upkeep and maintenance. 2 longs and a short to you, Dr. Kattoo! 5 Million is a very lofty goal. | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 758 Registered: 11-2005 |
Damn! Why does my cousin have to get married in Manhattan on THAT weekend!? The article says it will be there until Nov. 9. That's when it will go into dry storage for renovation. | ||
Catman_dude Member Username: Catman_dude Post Number: 147 Registered: 03-2006 |
I remember as a kid (Faygo song starts in my head) in the late sixties, my only time being on the Boblo boat, watching from one of the upper decks down into the engine room. Some guy was down there tending to the engine and I could see water swishing by past some hole on the bottom. I could never figure out why the boat didn't sink when it had a hole on the bottom! I remember the warm glow of glazed wooden deck floor, the deep bass resounding in the air from a band (I don't remember what kind of band- brass or rock band). Very festive! | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 762 Registered: 11-2005 |
I remember the smell of the engine room. We used to hang out down there and watch the pistons pound. | ||
Awfavre Member Username: Awfavre Post Number: 123 Registered: 08-2005 |
Thanks for this info, Rhymeswithrawk & everyone else. Wait until the Boatnerds hear about this!  I came to Detroit well after the Boblo Boats started running, & I never got a chance to board them. I know the vessel was in River Rouge for awhile, but I never got down there before she went back to Toledo. I won’t make the same mistake this time. I’ll do my best to keep everyone posted of her whereabouts that day, & I will make sure I get photos when she goes by. Thanks again. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 1086 Registered: 10-2006 |
Aarne_frobom, I take it that those photos with the Freep article were taken before you saw it in 2005, no? | ||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 1769 Registered: 11-2003 |
Way back then, avid boat-buff members of the Marine Historical Society of Detroit used to gather at the bow of the BobLo boats and ride down to the Island on a Sunday morning. They would not even get off the vessel, just wait til she turned around again and sailed back to Detroit. The idea was to just sit there and be the first to identify an approaching freighter and ( of course ) take a photo as she sailed by. Back then there were about 400 freighters to choose from. Woe to the guy who saw one coming, but misidentified it by name. So many looked alike, but if you goofed, you were treated like an outcast. | ||
Kville Member Username: Kville Post Number: 57 Registered: 04-2007 |
Everybody has Boblo memories. My wife & I were planning to come to Detroit on the 22nd (for a family event). We're hoping to be able to take part of the day off and get there a little earlier. If we can swing it, we'll have the camera for sure. | ||
Mthouston Member Username: Mthouston Post Number: 1046 Registered: 01-2006 |
Has any of you folks been down to the Dossin Great Lakes Museum to see the Bob-Lo exhibit? http://www.360michigan.net/dos sinGLM.html | ||
Fishtoes2000 Member Username: Fishtoes2000 Post Number: 221 Registered: 06-2005 |
The Ste. Claire is expected to arrive on Friday the 22nd in the late afternoon. Unfortunately the large slip on the west side of the current park boundaries cannot handle the boat due to its sedimentation. For now, they will dock near the lighthouse and just upstream from the marine entrance. The DNR recognizes this boat's significance to Detroiters and also it's historical value. They are considering long term plans that involve the boat and Tricentennial Park. | ||
Warrenite84 Member Username: Warrenite84 Post Number: 117 Registered: 01-2007 |
Here are some pics I took of it when it was docked at a park on the Detroit River. I don't remember the name of the park though but it is in River Rouge. Ste.Claire (Message edited by Warrenite84 on June 14, 2007) | ||
Mr_lee Member Username: Mr_lee Post Number: 5 Registered: 07-2006 |
I am so glad to see that Ste. Claire still has the interest and love of so many. I hope you will all come down and visit the ship and share your Bob-Lo Memories.  I have been following the Ste. Claire and Columbia since they were laid up, Labor Day 1991. 16 years and three owners later the project is moving along beautifully. Ste. Claire’s new owner, Henry Ford own, Dr. Kattoo has a strong business plan and some of the most wonderful people this town has to offer on the team. An aggressive plan to restore her and return her to service is in motion, this includes adding new automated boilers and retaining her triple expansion steam engine, Frank Kirby would be proud. Proposed launch date, May 7, 2010 on the 100th anniversary of her launching. Richard Anderson of New York is taking the Columbia to New York for service on the Hudson River. For more on the ships check out the web sites http://boblosteamers.com A tribute to the Bob-Lo Steamers http://bobloboat.com The official site of the Bob-Lo Boat Ste. Claire Mr. Lee Webmaster mrlee@bobloboat.com http://sscolumbia.org/ The Columbia groups web site Full Steam Ahead  |
