Minne-Ha-Ha II

The Minne-Ha-Ha is a sternwheel steamboat on Lake George, New York. It is owned and operated by the Lake George Steamboat Company.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Lake George Steamboat Company owned and operated two ships on Lake George. They were the Ticonderoga (II), a retired navy ship from World War 2, and the Mohican (II), a dieselized steamer who was built by the Steamboat Company in 1907-1908. During the 1960s, these two ships would make daily trips on the lake. The Ticonderoga would make trips up and down the lake, while the Mohican would make two trips into Paradise Bay. In 1968, with the increasing volume of tourists to Lake George Village, the primary docking point of the Lake George Steamboats, requests for hour-long cruises became more frequent. It became evident that a third boat was needed to satisfy the people who did not have time for the longer cruises provided by the "Mo" and "Ti". Wilbur Dow, the company's owner at the time, wanted to make the boat itself an attraction and that it should be powered by steam. A sidewheeler was originally considered to keep with the tradition of the older steamboats on the lake, but the ship, at an estimated 100-foot design, would have appeared to be too wide and short. It was then decided to construct a sternwheel steamboat.

The ship was designed by H.M. Tiedemann Company of New York City. The construction started on October 2, 1968 at the Steamboat Company's shipyard in Baldwin, which is located near Ticonderoga, New York, on the other side of Lake George. The hull of the new ship was launched on December 6, 1968, and it was towed by the Mohican to the Steel Pier, her future dock, in Lake George Village. The building of the boat was then continued there, and completed over the winter at a cost of $270,000. The new boat was 103 feet long, had a 30-foot beam, and a draft of 3.5 feet. She had a displacement of 200 tons and could go up to 7 miles per hour. Wilbur Dow's wife, Ruth, struck the champagne bottle against the boat on July 30, 1969, and the ship was christened Minne-Ha-Ha, meaning "laughing waters". She is the second boat by the Lake George Steamboat Company to have this name, sharing it with a sidewheeler that served from 1857 to 1878.

Starting from August 1, 1969, the "Minne" has made six daily hourly trips during the running months, and over its years a seventh hour cruise has been added, as well as a moonlight cruise on Saturday nights. She also sported a calliope that played soothing tunes after each cruise. The fact that it was not only a true steamboat, but also provided short, slow paced cruises showered the new ship with immediate popularity.

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