Chautauqua Belle

Chautauqua Belle Up For Public Sale
By MANLEY J. ANDERSON

2/18/2007 - MAYVILLE — The more than 30-year-old paddle wheel steamer Chautauqua Belle is up for sale.The craft is dry-docked at Mayville Lakeside Park and has not been operated since the 2003 summer season.The Belle was built in 1975 and is owned by Sea Lion Project Ltd. which is offering it for sale by sealed bid to a purchaser who will agree to operate it as a tour boat on Chautauqua Lake on a regular schedule each summer season for the next 10 years.

The vessel is reported to be one of only two high-pressure steam-powered paddle wheeled tour boats operating east of the Mississippi River.The steel hull sternwheeler has an overall length of 96 feet and a beam width of 18 feet, with all of the structure above the main deck made of aluminum.Its two passenger decks can accommodate 128 passengers, while its pilothouse is located on the third (upper) deck.Operating power is provided by a 100 horsepower triple pass Scotch marine boiler feeding two 20 horsepower McBride steam engines to drive the paddlewheel. A 60-horsepower Skinner steam engine drives a 45 KVA three phase 240 volt generator providing all necessary electrical power. A backup electrical power system is operated by a diesel powered electric generator.Sixteen fire tubes were replaced in the boiler in the summer of 2005. with the unit then passing a hydrostatic pressure test at a working pressure of 205 per square inch.A complete inspection of the vessel was conducted in December 2006 by a professional marine inspection company.This included ultrasonic testing of the complete hull for material thickness, boiler and boiler control inspection, along with the engines and drive train.An inspection report is available at The Sea Lion Project’s website at www.sealionprojectltd.com.

Included in the vessel’s sale is all auxiliary equipment used in its operation, along with all available spare parts.These include Coast Guard approved life jackets for the maximum number of passengers and crew, marine radios, public address system and speakers, compass, gangway with winch, conductor shore power cable, mooring lines, water pump, boiler water treatment chemicals, lubricating oil, and spare gaskets.The long list extends to include enough precut larch lumber pieces to replace all wooden parts of the paddle wheel except the buckets, the Sea Lion Project’s interest in the maintenance building in Mayville Park which has a new water line and service and restroom, with these improvements installed in 2006.

Any one interested in purchasing the Chautauqua Belle for continued operation on Chautauqua Lake should contact Duane Buchweitz at 753-3026 for any needed information and to arrange for inspection of the vessel and related items included in the sale.The Sea Lion Project will separately negotiate sale or lease of the cradle and railroad system used to launch and retrieve the vessel from the water each year, conditional on using it when necessary to remove the Bemus Point-Stow Ferry from the water for periodic inspection and maintenance.

All bids must be submitted in writing to Sea Lion Project Ltd. in care of Duane Buchweitz, 18 Point Pleasant Road, Mayville, N.Y. 14757.Final acceptance of any bid for the craft’s purchase is conditional on an established approval required by law.It calls for approval by the Sea Lion Project Ltd. Board of Directors, approval by a two-thirds vote of the voting members of the Sea Lion Project Ltd., with a meeting of its membership scheduled for March 21, and approval by New York State Supreme Court or Chautauqua County Court after notice to the New York State attorney general’s office.

John C. Cheney of Bemus Point, a long time active member of the Sea Lion Project, said, ‘‘If the Belle doesn’t sell at a reasonable figure, we’ll run it ourselves.’’

For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com