WDW watercraft pictures - 09/01/05

Steve · **Posted:** Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:55 am

Today's [url=http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/index.html]Walt Disney World Images[/url] update includes eight pictures of [url=http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/wdw_watercraft.shtml]WDW watercraft[/url] used to move guests from place to place. A variety of sizes are used, and they are all fun to ride.

[img]http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/images/watercraft/wdw_watercraft_605_01_s.jpg[/img]
[url=http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/wdw_watercraft_605_01.shtml]At the Magic Kingdom[/url]

[img]http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/images/watercraft/wdw_watercraft_605_02_s.jpg[/img]
[url=http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/wdw_watercraft_605_02.shtml]At the Magic Kingdom[/url]

[img]http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/images/watercraft/wdw_watercraft_605_03_s.jpg[/img]
[url=http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/wdw_watercraft_605_03.shtml]At the Magic Kingdom[/url]

[img]http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/images/watercraft/wdw_watercraft_605_04_s.jpg[/img]
[url=http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/wdw_watercraft_605_04.shtml]On Bay Lake[/url]

[img]http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/images/watercraft/wdw_watercraft_605_05_s.jpg[/img]
[url=http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/wdw_watercraft_605_05.shtml]On Bay Lake[/url]

[img]http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/images/watercraft/wdw_watercraft_605_06_s.jpg[/img]
[url=http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/wdw_watercraft_605_06.shtml]At the Wilderness Lodge[/url]

[img]http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/images/watercraft/wdw_watercraft_605_07_s.jpg[/img]
[url=http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/wdw_watercraft_605_07.shtml]At the Wilderness Lodge[/url]

[img]http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/images/watercraft/wdw_watercraft_605_08_s.jpg[/img]
[url=http://www.burnsland.com/wdw/wdw_watercraft_605_08.shtml]On Bay Lake[/url]

More watercraft pictures will be coming in the future. Stay tuned!

Huckleberry · **Posted:** Fri Sep 02, 2005 3:18 pm

The largest of the vessels used on the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake are the three ferryboats:

Admiral Joe Fowler (green trim)
Richard F. Irvine (red trim)
General Joe Potter (blue trim)

The first two were built in the late 70's and are practically identical. The latter was built with a dual purpose upper deck for wedding parties and restrooms on the lower level. It is also much lighter in weight and therefore a lot more difficult to handle in the wind.

The next class used are the Motor Cruisers:

Bon Voyage (yellow with blue trim)
Castaways (blue with yellow trim)
Mermaid I (aqua with yellow trim)

Again the first two are practically identical, however I've heard rumors that the original names were swapped with each other years back when one of the vessels fuel tank exploded killing at least one passenger (rumor). The Mermaid I was the first of three that were supposed to be built but never were, for the Venetian Resort which was also never built on Seven Seas Lagoon between the TTC and Contemporary Resort. It was built in 1994 in Canada, whilst the first two were built in the 1970's in Tampa. One thing most pilots dislike about the Mermaid is the curved hull to accomodate wheelchairs more easily around the pilothouse stairs, as the curvature makes docking more difficult.

Finally the smallest vessels are the Motor Launches:

Adventurer
Explorer
Navigator
Mariner
Seafarer
Voyager

The Adventurer, Explorer, and Navigator all have white hulls and were built first, mainly as show pieces. An interesting fact about these three is they originally were steam powered and required two crew members. However these craft were supposedly too slow for regular passenger service, most pilots couldn't manage the boiler and navigate at the same time, and Walt Disney had passed away so the initial steam interest was also subsided. These were converted to gasoline I believe for a short period (not confirmed) but have been mostly diesel mechanical engines for most of their current use. The Voyager, Seafarer, and Mariner all feature blue hulls and have been powered by diesel engines their whole lives in watercraft service.

I've run most every vessel on the lake, but my favorite will always be the Navigator.

Steve · **Posted:** Fri Sep 02, 2005 3:29 pm

Thanks, John! I was hoping you could provide some more information about all of those!

And thanks especially for the names of the motor launches. I suppose the letters on them stand for the full names. For example, the launch with "M" on the sign on either side of the roof would be Mariner, right?

Huckleberry · **Posted:** Sat Sep 03, 2005 11:17 am

You're welcome. It was the second best job I've ever had (after firing the #478 as road engine on a doubleheader with my friend Jarrette firing the #473 as the helper).

Not too bad of a job though considering there were occasions nobody would be on board, so you could really enjoy being out on the water. A couple of my favorite days I worked was Christmas Day 2002 and the wind gusts were so strong that people waiting on the docks were afraid to board due to the 4-5 foot wakes I was jumping to tie down at the Fort. Another time was my last night before moving to Colorado last year and the moon was out and a really heavy fog rolled in, it seemed like you could be anywhere in the world on the water. Good times!

WDW watercraft pictures - 09/01/05

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