The MVGoodtime III is the third generation of sightseeing boats that cruise and tours theCuyahoga River and Cleveland Harbor. The boat can hold 1,000 passengers, has four decks and indoor and outdoor seating. Tours of the Cleveland area waterways are narrated and include local andnatural history. The boats and the cruise tours have been owned and operated by the Fryan family since 1958.
The MVGoodtime III is the largest excursion boat inCleveland, Ohio and is able to hold up to 1,000 passengers.[1][2] The four-deck boat is equipped with 3 bars and 2 dance floors.[3][4] Its dimensions are 151-by-40 feet.[5] The boat provides sightseeing tours of the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie that include both local andnatural history of the region.[1][6] There is both indoor and outdoor seating and a dining area.[6] TheGoodtime III averages about 300 tours a year.
TheGoodtime III is part of a series of boats named MVGoodtime, MVGoodtime I and MVGoodtime II.[7] The first Goodtime tour took place on the MVGoodtime in 1958 when brothers, Vince and Herb Fryan started taking the 150-passenger boat out for tours on theCuyahoga River, and Cleveland Harbor.[2] The Fryan brothers sold the MVGoodtime in 1965, keeping only the larger MVGoodtime II.[5] The MVGoodtime II could hold up to 475 guests.[5] MVGoodtime II was renamed MVLiberty Bell II and operated inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania and later inVenice, Florida as the MVVegas until it was scrapped in 2010. The MVGoodtime I is still operating inSandusky, Ohio, but is not longer owned by the Fryan family.[7] These boats were in turn named after the SSGoodtime that carried passengers on Lake Erie and was run by the Cleveland and Buffalo Transit Company between 1924 and 1938. This steamship was originally named the SSCity of Detroit II and had been built in 1889.
The Fryan brothers sold the business to Vince's son, Jim Fryan in 1984.[5] Rick Fryan, grandson of Vince, currently runs theGoodtime III. He started working as a deckhand and salesman for the company in 1986.[2] Jim Fryan decided to build MVGoodtime III in 1988.[5] MVGoodtime III arrived in Cleveland in September 1990[7] The new Goodtime III started public cruising season in 1991.[7]
From 1980 up until 2013, theGoodtime II, andGoodtime III was captained by Bruce M. Hudec who started as deckhand in 1971 and worked his way up to captain. Captain Hudec died on December 5, 2014.[5]
