 Hiawatha (on right) about to pass her slightly younger berth-mateKwasind (on left) in 2012 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hiawatha |
| Owner | Royal Canadian Yacht Club[1] |
| Port of registry |  Toronto,Ontario[1] |
| Builder | Bertram Engine Works,Toronto |
| Completed | 1895[1] |
| Status | in active service |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ferry |
| Tonnage | 46 GT[2] |
| Length | 56 feet (17 m)[2] |
| Beam | 13.3 feet (4.1 m)[2] |
| Depth | 6.3 feet (1.9 m)[2] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Capacity | 100 passengers[2] |
MVHiawatha is a passenger ferry built in 1895 for theRoyal Canadian Yacht Club, inToronto,Ontario, Canada.[1][3] The boat is 56 feet (17 m) long, 13.3 feet (4.1 m) wide, has a depth of 6.3 feet (1.9 m), and measures 46 gross tons. Her capacity is 100 passengers.[2]
Hiawatha was built by the Bertram Engine Works near Queen's Wharf in Toronto harbour and named forHiawatha, aFirst Nations leader and co-founder of theIroquois confederacy. It is claimed to be the oldest passenger vessel still in active service on the North AmericanGreat Lakes.[1]Hiawatha has served as a ferry for the yacht club since 1895. The boat was converted from asteam engine to a gasoline engine in 1944.[1] The ship was refurbished in 1983.[4]
On July 26, 2000, bothHiawatha and the yacht club's slightly newer ferry,Kwasind, were sunk by vandals.[2][5]Kwasind was refloated and was back in working order the day of the sinking, whileHiawatha required further repair.[6]
Bearing this in mind, we find it surprising that very few of our Toronto members realize that they have, right under their noses, what appears to be the oldest operating passenger vessel on the Great Lakes.
The Hiawatha, built in 1895 and considered one of the world's oldest vessels still in daily service, was boarded and sunk by vandals at the yacht club's dock on Queens Quay, police said. The boat took club members and guests between the city and Toronto Island.
The Royal Canadian Yacht Club, founded 1852, moved its clubhouse to Toronto Island in 1881; members and guests access the island with a pair of century-old ferry boats, the Hiawatha and Kwasind (names in a Longfellow poem).
The Hiawatha's sister vessel the Kwasind was also left semi-submerged and adrift, but was salvaged and returned to its dock. Police investigation continues but the police suspect that vandals opened the sea valves, allowing the vessel to fill with water.