Crews work to remove Mandalay B boat from Shuswap Lake (Photo credit: CSRD)

By Pete McIntyre

Team effort

100-year-old sunken boat removed from lake

Jun 1, 2023 | 2:10 PM

A century-old boat will end up in the landfill after being recovered from Shuswap Lake for a second time in the last two years.

The Mandalay B is a wooden, diesel-powered boat that was moored off Lee Creek in Electoral Area F of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District.

The 50-foot boat was originally built in Vancouver in 1923 and was mostly used on the coast before being brought to the Shuswap in the mid-1990s.

The Mandalay B had previously sunk into the lake in January 2022. A private recovery effort raised it back out of the water in June 2022.

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Unfortunately, the North Shuswap landmark became submerged again about four months later and this time, the boat’s owner could not afford the removal costs.

That led to a project involving Transport Canada, the CSRD and other government agencies, to remove the boat, which was a safety and environmental hazard, from the lake.

“CSRD bylaw enforcement began to work with Transport Canada’s navigation protection program to coordinate a collaborative clean-up effort to remove and dispose of the Mandalay B,” Tracy Hughes, communications coordinator with the CSRD said.

“The boat was removed from Shuswap Lake under Federal provisions of the Wrecked, Abandoned and Hazardous Vessels Act.”

Shuswap-area marine diving and recovery companies completed the removal process on May 10.

“After months spent under the water, the antique vessel will not be restored to make a return to the lake. The CSRD’s environmental health department waived the tipping fees for the boat’s proper disposal,” Hughes stated.