The gondola at Bayside in Miami

update:
this boat is no longer operating out of the Bayside Marketplace,
so treat this post as a time capsule.

I spent a few hours today at the Bayside Marketplace, looking at a very rare vessel.
This gondola was built around 1998 in Northern California by Don Curtis. Don built three of my gondolas. He's taken his woodworking expertise into the custom home field, but when he was building boats, he built some beauties. This vessel is all mahogany and maple, with a unique prow in the front and a torpedo stern.
I had the pleasure of driving her around the marina and out into an adjoining waterway, she drives and steers with dual trolling motors, making her ridculously maneuverable, jut like the three we have back in Newport.
I had a long conversation with the man who maintains her - one of the few people who understands what I go through maintaining some of my gondolas. I also met the gondolier, Captain Roberto - quite possibly the world's only Cuban gondolier.

Here's a close-up of the supple seating inside. The whole system is controlled using these three tillers.

In classic Curtis form, the gondola has an arching canopy like those on horse-drawn carriages so long ago.

The canopy from inside.

Here's something you don't see on many gondolas - a fan to keep passengers cool.

Many thanks to the folks at Island Queen Cruises at Bayside for their hospitality.