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Fintry Queen
Historical Information |
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History of the Fintry
Queen
| Today the Fintry Queen lies tethered
to large pilings, waiting for the
next chapter in her life story. For
more than 60 years she has been a
part of Kelowna's downtown
waterfront, carrying more than
25,000 passengers every summer. Her
old moorage slip has now made way
for the new Kelowna Marina Pier,
which has new short term daily
docking for Okanagan Lake boaters. |
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| Originally named the "M.V. Lequime",
the Fintry Queen was built in
Vancouver in 1947 and shipped by
rail in sections to Kelowna, where
she became one of three car and
passenger ferries crossing Okanagan
Lake. The smallest ferry, the
Pendozi, is now the Clubhouse for
the WestBank Yacht Club. The third
ferry the "Lloyd Jones" was taken
back to the coast by BC Ferries
where she continued to work for many
years before being sold in 1998 to
the Dominican Republic. |
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| The Aberdeen was the
first CPR ship in the
Okanagan Valley. She carried
passengers and cargo daily
from Okanagan Landing
(Vernon, BC) to Penticton
from 1893 to 1919. |
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| The Fintry Queen was designed as an
all-season ferry with an extra thick
hull for breaking through the winter
ice and a unique hull shape that
enables her to get close to shore to
use the boarding ramp. The transformation from "Lequime" to
"Fintry Queen" was the creation of
Arthur Bailey in the 1960's, to
transport travellers and tourists to
his new real estate development at
Fintry. "Art was a dreamer" said his
wife Ingrid, "and a few years ahead
of his time." Ingrid remembers
housing and feeding more than 30
shipwrights for the two years it
took to convert the vessel on the
beach at Fintry to reflect the
sternwheeler tradition on Okanagan
Lake.
The original Fintry Queen had no
housing. Passengers were issued with
raincoats for the first few years. |
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 Here
is a poster from the 1970's
when the Fintry Queen would
make weekend runs to Fintry.
Cruise, Dinner and Dance for
$4.50
In the eighties there were
cruises to Peachland and
Penticton.
Today she can carry 335
passengers and crew. On the
Main Deck there is a indoor
forward lounge that seats 70
and a rear main dining room
with dance floor for another
120 guests. On the Upper
Deck there is a covered
outdoor area, sun deck,
barbeque, snack bar and
games room.
Two fuel efficient turbo
diesel engines power the
ship at an average cruising
speed of 6-8 knots.
Between 2004 and 2008, an
estimated $800,000 was spent
on improvements. All the
wiring, switches, electrical
panels and fire control
systems were replaced. The
generators and main engines
were rebuilt along with new
stainless steel shafts and
bronze propellers.
The Wheelhouse has not
changed since the ship was
built in 1948
The Fintry Queen has carried
more than 500,000 travelers
over 70 years, creating
memories that last a
lifetime. |
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The lake boats were the
transportation link and
lifeline for the many small
communities, agricultural
and mining settlements
located along the shoreline. |
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