The Steamer Ste. Claire

The next part of the trip was one of the special parts of the trip.  This is where we got to see the other remaining Boblo Boats.  The steamer Columbia was taken to Toledo for restoration last September.  This boat remains behind.

 The Ste. Claire was designed by Frank Kirby and built in Toledo by the Toledo Shipbuilding Company.  She was launched in 1910.  She is an example of a propellor driven excursion vehicle of the early 1900's.

 From her launch until the demise of Boblo Island in the early 1990's, she served as one of the boats that would take people to the island.  Boblo Island was an amusement park located at the southern part of the Detroit River.  It was started in 1898 and ended in 1993 after it was facing pretty stiff competition from Cedar Point.  It would have been a roughly two hour boat ride from Detroit.

 The Ste. Claire was sold in 1991 and she was laid up in her current location at that time.

 In 2006, she was bought by the Maximus Company and some restoration was started on her at that time.

 Currently she is looking for a new home because the owners of this dock want to do some work on it.

I would seriously hate to see this vessel scrapped but that is pretty likely.