General Jackson (riverboat)
General Jackson is a riverboat—more specifically, a showboat—based on the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tennessee.
General Jackson was named after another riverboat of the same name that was built in 1817; that boat was in turn named for Andrew Jackson. The modern boat was originally an attraction at the Opryland USA theme park. The park closed in 1997, but the boat remains in service, docking at Pennington Bend near the Opry Mills shopping center that replaced the park. In addition to Opry Mills, the dock is located near the Grand Ole Opry House and the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.
The original captains were Captain E.A. Poe and Captain William Howell.
Specifications[edit]
General Jackson was built by Jeffboat in Jeffersonville, Indiana and launched in 1985. Though built to resemble a vintage steam-powered riverboat, it is actually powered by diesel generators which power two 600 horsepower (450 kW) electric motors, which in turn propel a 24-foot-diameter (7.3 m), 36-ton sternwheel. The boat has a capacity of 1,200 passengers and 157 crew members. She is 274 feet (84 m) long (300 feet (91 m) with gangway extended), has a 63-foot-6-inch (19.35 m) beam (width), is 77 feet (23 m) tall with her folding smokestacks fully extended (the folding stacks are necessary because of low bridge clearances), and has a draft of 7 feet (2.1 m).[1]