An historic Muskoka steam yacht that first hit the water more than 100 years ago will be relaunched this July after a 20-year hiatus off the water. Her name is Wanda III, and she’s expected to make quite the splash this summer.
Well, technically, Wanda III never left the water: she’s 94 feet long and 12 feet wide. But since 2019, the vessel has been suspended above the waters of Lake Muskoka, Ont., on a large lift located at the Muskoka Steamships & Discovery Centre (MSDC) where technicians have been restoring the boat to her former glory.
First constructed in 1915 on commission from Margaret Eaton (yes, of department store fame), Wanda III is a floating relic of a bygone era of steam travel and the region’s evolution as a tourist and settlement destination over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
No pontoon, Wanda III was one of the fastest boats on the Muskoka Lakes at the time, thanks to her mighty steam engine that boasted the same power as WWI war ships.
The boat changed hands multiple times over the decades, before eventually being donated to the MSDC in 1993, where it was sailed commercially until 2004 due to Transport Canada regulations that deemed it unsailable.
Since then, the boat has been out of commission, but in pursuit of restoring her to her former glory and striving for increased sustainability, the MSDC embarked on a years-long (and $1.45 million) journey to electrify Wanda III’s steam engine, amongst other improvements.
Also on their to-do list was to have Wanda III re-plumbed and rewired with modern controls, as well as have her steel hull refinished, and wood bottom repaired and resealed. A group of 10 to 12 volunteers were also tasked with restoring chairs, other furniture, and wood fenders from the interior of the boat.
While donations from the public and help from volunteers have made the exciting project mostly smooth sailing, MSDC President John Miller says they hit roadblocks during the pandemic, pushing the original launch date back by a year.
“We started before the pandemic, and then the pandemic hit, and all the challenges that came along with the pandemic affected us: material supply chains for all the things that we needed to order, labor issues, and work stoppages,” says Miller. “We didn’t necessarily have a roadmap to follow, but the people that we had involved did an amazing job, and we’re almost at the end here now and ready to go.”
Pending Transport Canada certifications that are expected to be delivered in the spring, Miller says the relaunch will happen some time in July, and will likely be accompanied by a celebration.
Once relaunched, Wanda III will complete an exhibit called The Muskoka Story: A Microcosm of Canada, which opened in 2023 at the Discovery Centre. The historic steam yacht will serve as the crown jewel of the surrounding boathouse exhibit, also expected to be completed this summer. Once complete, the boathouse will feature photos and interesting stories detailing Wanda’s history in Muskoka, Miller says.
And after decades out of commission, Wanda III will be sailing the scenic waters of Lake Muskoka once again—no longer relegated to the boathouse.
“Wanda will compliment the exhibit when she’s in her slip, but we will also sail her from the Discovery Centre a number of times each week, on one-hour cruises for the first summer,” says Miller. “She’ll also be available for private charter on Lake Muskoka.”
Once the Discovery Centre refines her operations and schedules (based on the other two ships they operate, their crew size, and the demand for Wanda III), they’ll be able to offer a more fulsome sailing schedule for the following summer, says Miller.
See you on the waters, Wanda III!
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