Chattanooga’s ties to the Tennessee River attracted a stop from a cruise line paddlewheeler on Monday, and company officials hope such riverboats will turn into a regular sight in the Scenic City.
The American Duchess, a 340-foot-long replica of the old paddleboat steamers, spent about a day in Chattanooga as part of a nine-day voyage on the river, said Captain Randy Kirschbaum.
“This is a test of how well it did customer-wise. We’re sold out,” he said aboard the boat docked at Ross’s Landing that was put into service by American Queen Steamboat Co. just last year.
Kirschbaum said he’d like to see the three-level American Duchess, which holds 166 guests, stop once a year in Chattanooga. He said the company’s other two vessels in the region, the American Queen and the soon-to-come American Countess, could make trips to the city as well.
Local officials said such stopovers would please them.
Shedrick Walker, the chief housekeeper for the American Duchess, cleans off a television located one of the rooms as the ship is docked along Riverfront Parkway Monday, November 26, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Walker said his staff is in charge of cleaning 83 rooms aboard the ship.Keith Sanford, the Tennessee Aquarium’s chief executive who also is board chairman of the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the slowest time for the attraction he oversees.
“They let 160 people off [in Chattanooga] this morning,” he said during a tour of the vessel.
Hamilton County Commissioner Chip Baker said such cruises add to the vibrancy of Chattanooga.
The executive director of Friends of the Festival, which operates the Riverbend Festival, added that the paddlewheeler was moored just across Riverfront Parkway from the aquarium.
Tom Armstrong of American Queen Steamboat Co. cited Chattanooga’s reputation as a tourist destination along with the seasonal color as among reasons for stopping in the Scenic City.
He said guests also find going through the locks on the Tennessee River “very interesting.”
Jeff Hutson, the American Duchess’ assistant cruise director, said the average age of the guests is between 55 and 60 years old.
The vessel has a paddlewheel that helps propel it, adding roughly 4 mph to the speed generated by its diesel-powered propellers, Hutson said.
While the American Queen is larger, holding 460 guests, the American Duchess is newer. A former riverboat casino, the vessel has “all the modern amenities,” the captain said. “It’s more intimate.”
Kirschbaum, with 40 years experience on river crafts, said the vessel has “touchscreen controls.”
“You don’t need the big steering wheel,” he said.
Chattanooga isn’t unfamiliar with paddlewheelers.
The Delta Queen, which was christened in 1927, spent several years in the city serving as a hotel and bar before a 2014 ice storm crippled the vessel and it stopped taking visitors. In 2015, the paddlewheeler left Chattanooga by tugboat with hopes by a new owner that it could again one day be made river worthy.
Kirschbaum said the Delta Queen today sits in Houma, La., in storage.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.