MV Hiawatha
Canadian passenger ferry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MV Hiawatha is a passenger ferry built in 1895 for the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, in Toronto, 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 (on right) about to pass her slightly younger berth-mate Kwasind (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] |
Hiawatha was built by the Bertram Engine Works near Queen's Wharf in Toronto harbour and named for Hiawatha, a First Nations leader and co-founder of the Iroquois confederacy. It is claimed to be the oldest passenger vessel still in active service on the North American Great Lakes.[1] Hiawatha has served as a ferry for the yacht club since 1895. The boat was converted from a steam engine to a gasoline engine in 1944.[1] The ship was refurbished in 1983.[4]
On July 26, 2000, both Hiawatha 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, while Hiawatha required further repair.[6]