Steamboat scheduled to shut down has people steamed

J.S. "Woody" Woodrow gets steamed when he thinks about the future of America's last authentic stern wheel-powered overnight steamboat.

Woodrow, of Bradenton, Fla., is among a group of passengers touring the Tennessee River this week on the Delta Queen who are upset about plans to park the historic steamboat in 2008.

An exemption from Congress that has allowed the boat with a wooden superstructure to operate as an overnight passenger vessel expires in November 2008.

"There's no other boat like her. She's a magnificent boat," Woodrow said.

The Delta Queen was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

The Delta Queen, which was built in 1926, has a steel hull, but its decks and superstructure are made from wood. A federal law passed in 1966 forbids any vessel made primarily of wood that operates from a United States port to carry more than 50 overnight passengers.

Congress has granted at least six exemptions from the law for the Delta Queen, which has a capacity of 174. The latest request for an exemption from Majestic America Line, which operates the steamboat, was denied.

"We did everything we could talking to Congress and took it as far as we could take it. It was made clear to us that we did not have the full support of the Congress needed to obtain another exemption," said April Matson, spokeswoman for the Seattle, Wash.-based river cruise line.

Although the wooden portions of the Delta Queen have been treated with fire retardant coatings, Matson said congressional leaders refuse to allow it to continue transporting overnight passengers.

Majestic America Line officials announced Aug. 1 that 2008 would be the farewell season for the Delta Queen.

Debbie Wilson, director of Florence-Lauderdale Tourism, is disappointed the Delta Queen will soon stop traveling up and down the Tennessee River several times each year. She said the steamboat's visits provide a boost to the local economy.

"It brings in lots of money for our downtown area when it stops here and for many of the attractions the passengers visit when they stop here," Wilson said.

As a busload of Delta Queen passengers returned from a shopping trip Tuesday, many carried items they purchased in the Shoals.

Wilson said tourism officials along the Tennessee River sent letters to congressional leaders urging them to allow the Delta Queen to continue operating.

Wilson is hopeful the Mississippi Queen, another of Majestic America Line's river cruise boats, will continue to visit the Shoals.

Lynn Overstake, a Delta Queen passenger from Hillsboro, Ohio, is hopeful Congress will reconsider Majestic America Line's request to continue operating the Delta Queen.

He said Delta Queen is smaller than other river cruise boats, allowing it to operate in rivers where bigger boats cannot go. He said if the Delta Queen is forced to cease operation, future generations will not be able to travel by steamboat to visit cities along small rivers.

Dennis Sherer can be reached at 740-5746 or dennis.sherer@timesdaily.com.