Last week’s small hydraulic leak on the Songo River Queen II didn’t put a damper on final summer trips for the iconic Naples riverboat this week.
This weekend however, owner Frank Gerrish will check every part in the engine room to make sure the 25-year-old boat is in top shape.
Last Wednesday morning, passengers on the riverboat got a brief scare after a pinhole in the hydraulic line brought the boat to a halt below the Songo Lock.
“When they came here, we started to see a sheen on the river and then a lot came out when the boat passed through the lock,” said Steve Garron, head ranger at Sebago Lake Park where the historic Songo Lock is located.
The rangers called the fire department to help evacuate the boat of its 70-plus passengers.
The boat, after drifting to the opposite shore, was pulled back to a landing near the Songo Lock. There, firefighters from Casco, Naples and Raymond escorted the passengers off the boat.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection called in oil-removal specialists, Boom Technology of Gorham, to lay absorbent padding on the oil-slicked river to soak up the spilt oil.
While most of the oil was contained on the boat, about 25 gallons of oil made it into the Songo River due to the leak, Maine DEP specialist Stephen Brezinski estimated at the scene of the spill.
Most of the oil sprayed out into the Songo Lock itself, which raises and lowers the water level so boats can travel up and down the sinuous Songo River and travel from Brandy Pond and Long Lake to Sebago Lake.
Luckily, this oil is biodegradable since Gerrish made an expensive switch from petroleum-based oils years ago in case of just such an emergency.
Oil from a chaffed hydraulic line sprayed out through exhaust fans in the engine room, Gerrish said, but much of the oily mess drained through the engine floor to be secured in the bilge.
Gerrish and his crew replaced both hydraulic lines that day, which powers the boat’s water wheels, and brought the riverboat back to its summer mooring on the Naples causeway.
“We try all the safety things we can,” he said, “to make the boat fool-proof.
The Songo River Queen II, an authentic Mississippi riverboat, has chartered Naples’ waters for over 20 years now. Gerrish, a former airline pilot, built the original River Queen back in 1970, modeling it after a boat he saw on show in Chicago.
After this boat burned at its mooring in 1982, Gerrish worked quickly to design and build a reincarnation of the original, the Songo River Queen II.
Since, the Songo River Queen II has been a major attraction in Naples, offering private charters, tours of Long Lake and trips down through the Songo Lock.
Gerrish praises his crew for keeping the passengers calm during the incident last week and the boat will finish its summer schedule of daily trips this weekend. The boat will continue to run charter cruises through to Columbus Day.
At 80 years old, Gerrish continues to work early mornings and late nights on the riverboat when the riverboat is not taking passengers on trips on the water.
“You just work on it everyday to keep it up,” Gerrish said.
Gerrish plans to check all functions of the engine room, replace old parts and install new safety features to prevent such an incident from occurring again.
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