How I found the missing American Boat Line…

I’ve long been a fan of the American Boat Line double deck tour boats. In fact, I’ve written about them before on my blog (www.1000islandssteelking.com). I still recall as a young “kid” riding aboard Adonis (wooden hull), Venus, Neptune, and on a return visit when much older, the Adonis II (all three aluminum hull vessels).

My blog started out as a tribute to my father’s Steel King and the fun my family had aboard her at Calumet Island in the 1960’s, but has expanded to cover a lot of the other things I recall from that era. My family’s boat was sold in the early 70’s, when we moved out of the area, but on a return to Clayton in the 80’s I saw her again. She had changed; she was a workboat for someone now and it was sad to see the shape she was in.

Fast forward a few decades and I was wondering about other boats of my youth. On my blog I have an article about a beautiful wooden boat that used to be at Calumet Island (White Cap). Time and some dedicated owners have apparently kept her in fine shape.

One day I thought about the American Boat Line. Did those boats still exist?

I started searching around and hit many dead ends. The data base at the Bowling Green State University turned-up record cards for all four double-deckers, and that spurred me on.

There had to be a trail I could follow; I wrote an article on TI Life and on my blog about the memories I have of those tour boats, hoping to not only share those memories, but to suggest there must be more information out there. I did receive some emails, but the trail thinned.

Then, things started to roll. One day I was contacted by someone with a picture he took of a tour boat that was a dead ringer for Venus, Neptune, and Adonis II. Another email hinted at a boat for sale in Florida. Despite these leads I couldn’t find anything concrete to prove these were the boats I was interested in finding. I sent emails to tour companies where people thought the boats may have been used. I did not get any replies. I searched the internet but found nothing. I heard one of the boats had toured in the New England area, so I searched for tour companies on the northeast coast. One day, something caught my eye…

A web page advertising the Boston Boat Cruise.  The hull lines were unmistakable. I knew that the Clayton boats were built by Paasch Marine, out of Erie Pennsylvania, and I assumed there were only three, (because my little world only knew of three) but I didn’t know for certain how many were built. Was this one of them? I went to Boston and found out.

Yes, she was.  At first, signs pointed to her being the Venus, but with the help of the Captain we discovered she was actually the Neptune.  A few weeks to post details was an optimistic guess… every time I thought I was ready to publish the article, more information came my way. Months later I found the operators of the boat from that dead-ringer photo that was sent to me. Confirmation number two: the American Venus!

More months passed and I searched again for the “one for sale in Florida”. You know how sometimes things just come together? This was one of those times; my search landed me at a website with a listing for a boat with not only the same lines, but a name that matched the record card at the Bowling Green State University database. Confirmation three: the American Adonis II

What about the original? The wooden American Adonis. No idea. Wish I could say more, but I can’t. She remains a mystery.

Something I did not mention in my research post, and I believe I recall correctly, was that the tour boats (or pictures I’ve seen of them) were also run under Gray Line Tours and (at least the Adonis II) was bannered with “1000 Islands Seaway Cruises” on the port and starboard upper deck. I am not sure if this was advertisement or a company name change.

So that’s a bit of the back-story. Did I have fun on this quest? You bet. Is there more to discover? I imagine so. If you want to see the whole story, the journey, the pictures and video, go to http://www.1000islandssteelking.com/?p=964

By Mike Fesko,

Mike Fesko is a freelance voice-over artist, credentialed Project Management Professional, and private pilot. He and his family live in New England and his interests include radio broadcasting, photography, and amateur radio.  This is a follow-up to Mike’s two articles about his memories of life on the St. Lawrence in the 1960s.  Since his first article in 2010, we have had many inquiries from readers.  These are proof positive that TI Life is doing its job of connecting River friends.