This shot of Davey Crockett's Keelboat Bertha Mae appears to have been taken from the Deck of the Columbia. The other Keel Boat was owned by Mike Fink and was named the Gullywhumper. The Disney history is that when the attraction opened in December 25, 1955 the boats were the actual ones used for filming the Television show and subsequent film. The boats did not last long and had limited capacity, so new ones were constructed with a fiberglass hull and three windows. The boats ran until the early 1990s, were quiet for a couple years and then brought back. In 1997 the Gullywhumper capsized and a couple of guests were slightly injured and the keelboats are no more. This boat was auctioned and now sits in the backyard pool of a prominent Disneyland collector as seen in a issue of The E Ticket Magazine.
I've read the story about the original Keelboats being used (and soon replaced with fiberglass versions).
ReplyDeleteBut I am almost certain that the old two-window versions were used for much longer than that...I think I have photos of them on the river into the 60's.
dc88 is correct. many disneyland 'upgrades' happened when disney world's budget opened up new design and fabrication dollars.
ReplyDeleteit wasn't too expensive to "make another for disneyland" when disney world's elements were created. the haunted mansion was a big one under this theory.