The Brazos Belle was a 160 feet (48.8 m) American riverboat

Riverboat

A riverboat is a ship built boat designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury units constructed for entertainment enterprises, such...

 constructed for use on the Brazos River

Brazos River

The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...

 in Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. Permamently docked in Waco, Texas

Waco, Texas

Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....

 as a restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

 in 1997, the Belle often hosted dinner parties, receptions, and functions for local Greek organizations

Fraternities and sororities

Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...

. Flooding in 2007 badly damaged the boat; although the Belle was refloated, repairs proved uneconomical, and the Brazos Belle was scrapped late in 2008.

History

The Brazos Belle, originally named Brazos Queen II, was constructed by F.M. Young at a cost of USD $1 million, the vessel being permamently berthed on Lake Brazos, near Interstate 35

Interstate 35

Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...

 in Waco in 1997 as a result of fluctuating water levels in the Brazos River

Brazos River

The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...

. Young sold the riverboat to Tony Cain, president of Brazos Leisure, Inc., in 2006. The Belle was a popular restaurant and tourist attraction in Waco, being used for banquets and wedding receptions, although it proved too large to be operated effectively on the river.

In 2006, low water levels on the Brazos River grounded the vessel, leading to it having to temporarily close and lose as much as USD $70,000 in revenue; in 2007, vandals broke into the boat four times in under two months.

Flooding

On the morning of March 30, 2007, after heavy rains and flooding of the Brazos River, the bottom floor of the Belle filled up with eight feet of water, and the boat sunk at its moorings. The river, which a year before the flooding was so low it had the Belle sitting on dry ground, rose 26 feet in the week leading up to the flooding. Afterwards, the boat sat underwater until the city began cleanup in the spring of 2008. Several efforts by the city to contact the owners proved unsuccessful, with Cain first being unable to be found for comment for several weeks, then claiming to have returned title of the boat to Young, then declaring bankruptcy, assessing the damage to the Belle at USD $105,000.

Attempted cleanup and scrapping

In order to recoup unpaid taxes, the city sold the Belle for USD $10,000 to local businessmen. The Belles new owners raised the boat from the riverbottom and planned to move the vessel upstream for repairs. However, a lack of engines and expensive repairs that proved necessary before the vessel could be moved meant that the restoration of the vessel was economically unfeasible, and the Brazos Belle was sold for scrap, being broken up in late 2008.

New Belle

, a different riverboat named Brazos Belle operates from Belle's Landing in East Columbia, Texas

East Columbia, Texas

East Columbia is an unincorporated area in Brazoria County, Texas, United States....

, providing dinner tours on the Brazos River. It is claimed to be the first riverboat to sail the Brazos River in 150 years. It made its first voyage on July 31, 2011.