The M.S. Paddlewheel Queen was built in 80 days in 1965. (paddlewheelcruises.com)

The future of Winnipeg's popular paddlewheel tour boats is in question as the man at the helm hangs up the captain's hat.

Steve Hawchuk, who has owned both the Paddlewheel Queen and the Paddlewheel Princess, for 41 years has decided to sell his riverboats.

At the age of 73, he says it's time to stay on dry land. But it's not just his age that prompted Hawchuk's decision — it's also frustration.

He blames the city, the federal government, and a sluggish economy for making riverboating a challenge and his business less profitable.

High river levels in recent years have kept the boats anchored on several days, while new federal regulations forced him to spend more than a half-million dollars to overhaul his boats' hull, bulkheads, plumbing, and electrical wiring.

The Paddlewheel Princess was constructed in 1967. (paddlewheelcruises.com)

Since moving to the Alexander Docks in 2001, his plan was to put up a new building but the City of Winnipeg kept refusing to approve the necessary permits.

Rather than continue the battle, Hawchuk has chosen to step aside.

"I just got tired of fighting with the city and I would say that they're responsible for a lot of this," he said.

He hopes somebody younger can be found to "carry on the tradition" that he has offered Winnipeggers since buying the boats in 1969.

"Otherwise, you know, they'll just be parked," Hawchuk said.

During his 41 years of ownership, Hawchuk's riverboats have hosted thousands of socials, weddings, evening dance cruises and conventions. The 1970s and 80s were the most profitable time for his business, he said.

Long history on Manitoba's rivers

Paddlewheelers, or sternwheelers, first plied Winnipeg's rivers in the mid-1800s.

The first to arrive at the Red River settlement that would later grow into Winnipeg, was the Anson Northrup, which sounded its whistle in June 1859.

The first shipment of grain to the United States from Manitoba, left Winnipeg aboard the sternwheeler Minnesota in 1874. And on Oct. 8, 1877, the first steam locomotive in western Canada, the Countess of Dufferin, arrived at The Forks in Winnipeg, transported on a barge pushed by the S.S. Selkirk sternwheeler.

In 1910 there were 27 steamboats plying the Red River between Selkirk and Winnipeg, offering regular weekend passenger service to Victoria Beach on Lake Winnipeg, according to the Paddlewheel Cruises website.

But once the depression hit in the 1930s, the tourist trade slumped and pleasure steamers disappeared on the Red River.

Passenger riverboat traffic was revived in 1965 when Winnipegger Raymond Senft built and launched the M.S. Paddlewheel Queen. Its sister ship, the Paddlewheel Princess, was constructed in 1967.

Hawchuk purchased them in 1969.

The full history of the boats can be found on the Paddlewheel Cruises website.