Overhauling the Running Gear on an Iconic Fort Lauderdale Riverboat Attraction

If you live in or have visited the Greater Fort Lauderdale area, chances are pretty good that you have booked a cruise on the Jungle Queen Riverboat or at the very least seen her plying the New River. First launched in 1935, Jungle Queen Riverboat cruises have been delivering a laid-back, casual cruising experience to its customers for more than 80 years.

The “old fashion sternwheeler” was recently hauled at LMC and our team of running gear mechanics was called upon to overhaul her running gear from shafts to seals, props and rudders as part of routine maintenance.

After performing a full running gear inspection, we pulled the shafts, props and dropped the rudders. We also installed and aligned a new babbit bearing on her shaft. Babbit bearings are known for their resistance to galling and are often used in the marine applications for vessels of this type. As part of the overhaul, we will also remove and re-install the shaft and shaft muff couplings, supply a new Tides Marine shaft seal system and four new cutless bearings.

Our in-house machine shop, Straight Line Marine, will straighten both the port and starboard main shafts as well as the tailshafts. We will then lap the props back on the shafts as well as fit, face and lap the port and starboard couplers.

Work on the rudders required us to disconnect the tie bar and tiller arms. Once the rudders were out of the vessel, we replaced the rudder packing and stuffing box hardware. Our final step will be to do a full engine alignment to ensure smooth, vibration-free cruising.

Once the work is complete and the old gal is launched again, she will be ready to delight visitors to and residents of “the Venice of America” for years to come.