Proud Voyageur: St. John River icon to be demolished

Near the river by the Saint John Marina, a Mississippi-styled riverboat sits on land.

One side of the two-storey vessel has been demolished, causing the blue and white giant to lie on its side.

The Voyageur II was Saint John's only old-fashioned riverboat  — a vestige from a lost age — and for its owners and residents of the area, seeing the nearly 60-year-old craft go means a bittersweet goodbye.

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While the marina has purchased a new Mississippi-style riverboat,  demolishing one with so much history has been difficult.

"It's a decision long in the making," said Sarah Williams, operations manager for the marina on the outskirts of Saint John, toward Grand-Bay-Westfield. "It just cost too much. It cost too much money to fix it up to where it should be."

"We had to lay her to rest, so to speak."

It really ... takes you back to another time.- Holly McKay, resident of Grand Bay-Westfield 

Built in Louisiana in 1960 alongside its sister, the Voyageur I, Williams said its life started as just that — a riverboat in Louisiana.

But in the 1980s, the Voyageur II was sold to a buyer in Maine as a tugboat.

"It was used as a tug ship in Maine for probably 15 years when we bought it," Williams said. "We bought it in the late '90s, I think '98, brought it up here and refitted it back into a passenger vessel."

Since its retirement from the tugboat life, the boat has been sailing up and down the St. John River, being rented out for catering gigs and joyfully tooting its horn at passersby.

Money problems sunk the ship

Still, it suffered structural problems.

Unlike the historically wooden riverboats of the past, Williams said Voyageur II was made with steel — a costly material to replace. 

And the bigger the boat, the more it costs to keep it afloat. 

Likewise, the older the boat, the more often it has be dragged out of the water.

That's why the Voyageur II hadn't been launched over the past few seasons, Williams said.

The owners unsuccessfully searched for a buyer, she said, hoping to find someone who could give the passenger cruise a second life.

"Whether it be a houseboat or some sort of museum-type structure. It's sad to see it go. I know it's an inanimate object, but you sort of create a bond with a boat."

Strong connections remain

Williams has worked at the marina since she was 18, just a few years after the Voyageur II — also known as, "the party boat" — was brought up from Maine.

"I grew up around that boat," she said. "I have a connection to that boat and a lot of other people have a connection to that boat.

Grand Bay-Westfield resident Holly McKay is one such person. Being a graphic designer, she was drawn to Voyageur II because of its bright presentation, often photographing it when she found time.

"It had a real style to it," she said. "I think that's what appealed to me the most. It … takes you back to another time."

According to the Kings County Museum, riverboats used to be the main mode of transportation around New Brunswick back when they were powered by steam.

In May 1816, the first steamboat in New Brunswick, the General Smyth, made the first run from Saint John to Fredericton. It was the fourth steamboat in North America.

When McKay passed the boat on Monday night, she said she almost fell off her scooter.

"I don't know if you'd call it a bygone era," she said. "It represented fun and joy, just a party. It's going to be really hard not to see it there."

New boat coming

Williams said she has purchased a new riverboat, one in the same style as Voyageur II.

While she first began the search inside of Canada, the red, white and blue Mississippi-styled passenger cruiser will be driven up from Virginia, Williams said. 

"We've spent the last two years looking for a 'replacement vessel' for her. We knew this day was coming," she said. "We knew we'd either have to sell it or scrap it."

"I couldn't find anything as pretty as the Voyageur — I might be a little bit biased there, but I'm in love with that boat, the style and feel of her. But we found a boat that's somewhat similar."  

While she wouldn't discuss how much the new boat cost, she said there's a significant price range for these vehicles.

"They can be all over the place. It depends on what you want," she said. "You can start at $500,000 and then go all the way up to $10 million."

McKay was relieved to hear the Voyageur II would be replaced.

"It seemed like such an asset to that area," she said. "Nobody had anything like that."

It will be at the marina in May, Williams said. She thinks the public will be impressed with her buy.

She hopes people give the yet-unnamed watercraft a chance. 

"This wasn't a decision made lightly," she said. "Trust that we know we don't want to be left without a boat and we're going to bring more life to this marina."