Paul Wilson: This Queen's been 'round the block

Hamilton Harbour has long been famous for all the wrong reasons. One cruise at a time, an old 300-ton workhorse tries to change that.

She began as the Johnny B., named after a reprobate mayor in the far north. The boat was built in Owen Sound in the mid-’50s, then cut in seven pieces and shipped west.

She worked the Mackenzie River, right up to the Beaufort Sea. Some 30 years ago, they cut her in seven again, shipped her to Hamilton, welded her back together, then sent her off to Newfoundland.

Big oil was getting underway and the Johnny B. was used to transport and feed workers. Then, all in one piece this time, she returned to Ontario. There was a short career as a dinner boat out of Port Dalhousie, then five years in Port Dover.

And finally, eight years ago, the Waterfront Trust took her in and gave her a new name – the Hamilton Harbour Queen.

Brian Brooks, of Trinidad and other exotic places, has been her captain ever since.

The boat can handle 200. It used to be mostly individual ticket sales, the captain says, but now three quarters of the business is corporate. Wednesday night, for instance, OLG treated its high rollers to a cruise.

The Hamilton Harbour Queen cruises slow, about five knots, past steel mills and North Shore mansions. She knows the way around our storied waters and, at this stage of life, is grateful for her tranquil gig.

[email protected] | @PaulWilsonCBC

You can read more CBC Hamilton stories by Paul Wilson here.