The Chief Commanda II cruising season has been delayed and the official June 2 launch date has been pushed back another week to Saturday, June 10.
"Original intent was to start sailing this weekend," said Rich Stivrins, captain of the Chief Commanda II.
"We are just waiting on our engine suppliers to finish programming, so had to push the first public cruise to next Saturday," he told BayToday.
The Chief Commanda II can traditionally be found at this team at the Government Dock on the north end of North Bay on the shores of Lake Nipissing.
Stivrins says the reason for the delay has been a major engine upgrade on the historic cruise ship.
The Chief Commanda II is a 320-passenger, all-aluminum twin-hull vessel that cruises at a speed of up to 13 knots or 25 km/h.
"We are swapping out the old 1974 Volvo diesel engines for brand-new models," explained Stivrins.
"So they will be a lot more efficient and environmentally sensitive. Our emissions are going to go way down and they're just cleaner and quieter engines. We are in the last stages of that happening so once we are ready to go in the water, we have some sea trials to do and things of that nature so we are excited about that one as well."
Stivrins says he does not have a price tag on the cost of the ongoing project.
