Think you have to travel to the Mississippi River for a ride on a paddle boat?

Think again.

Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the summer, Austin's very own stern paddlewheel boat, the Spamtown Belle tours Eastside Lake, giving residents and tourists a taste of big river boating.

The 36-foot boat was built in 1956 by a company in Winona, Minn., as a scaled-down version of a 90-foot paddlewheel.

According to Dennis Maschka, director of the Austin Park, Recreation and Forestry Department and one of five licensed pilots who split up the tour duties, the boat was built as a houseboat until it was docked in the 1980s. Then, in 1998, Maschka says, Bill Regner, of Austin, purchased the boat and moved it from Marquette, Iowa to Austin where he restored it.

Once it was restored, Regner decided to donate the boat to the city and, Maschka says, "It was launched on the Eastside Lake on June 29, 1999 at 1 p.m. It unceremoniously sunk to the bottom at 6 p.m."

Maschka explains that high waves caused the boat's pumps to begin siphoning the water the wrong way and "it siphoned itself to the bottom."

The Belle was relaunched July 2 and has been giving 25-minute tours of Eastside Lake ever since.

Maschka says the 4-1/2 ton boat can carry as many as 22 passengers and "it only displaces 18 inches of water. It's phenomenal, it's just a big old barge."

Dr. Richard Nordin, of Austin, is also a Belle pilot and calls it "one of the best-kept secrets in town."

"It's kind of a pleasant ride … it's a fun boat," he says. "We have quite a few repeat riders."

"It's a fun little attraction," Maschka agrees. "People who go out on it definitely get a different perspective of the lake."

The Spamtown Belle, which is docked on Eastside Lake, gives tours from 5 to 8 p.m., Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from the beginning of June until the end of August. The cost is $2 for adults and $1 for children 12 and under. The boat also can be chartered for reunions, anniversaries, corporate picnics and other events for $75 an hour. For more information, contact the Park, Recreation and Forestry Department at 433-1881.

Amanda L. Rohde can be reached at 434-2214 or at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com