Comfort improvements at Ithaca Boat Tours

Ithaca Boat Tours has been in the business of lake relaxation and local history narrations since 2002 when Dennis Montgomery founded it. He also ran a wooden boat restoration business, Cayuga Wooden Boat Works, in Cayuga. His restoration of the boat named The M/V Handle was what set Montgomery into the boat tour business.

Not long after its initial launch came David Openshaw, who worked for Montgomery for almost 20 years. When Montgomery passed away, Openshaw began managing the boat tours for Montgomery’s wife and eventually bought the businesses. 

“Unfortunately around that time the M/V Handle aged out of its effectiveness for the boat tours and was becoming incredibly expensive to maintain,” Openshaw said. “In the middle of COVID I purchased the business and also purchased a slightly larger and relatively newer boat. The M/V Patrick T. Kennedy was built in 1989 as opposed to the Handle which was built in 1965.” 

Openshaw said this new boat is in the process of being customized for the lake and the business. The most recent, and he said a much appreciated addition, is a bathroom for tour goers to use, making it possible for the tours to be longer, and more enjoyable. The next addition will be a roof for the boat, making daytime tours easier and cooler in the summer. Currently, most boat tours are in the evenings to help avoid the hot midday sun and the lack of a roof, Opeshaw added, makes looking at the evening sky a beautiful, uninterrupted experience. 

In addition to the Kennedy, IBT also has a sailboat named Echo. The Echo is used for private boat tours of up to six people, as opposed to Kennedy, which can hold 49 passengers and is the main boat for public ticketed tours. 

“Sailing was my introduction to being on the water so I really enjoy the sail boat tours,” Openshaw said. “I grew up here and learned how to sail on the lake on this little wooden sailboat I inherited from my grandfather. That’s how my water story began.”

Openshaw explained that being on the sailboat versus the M/V is a totally different experience: you are totally powered by the wind and that brings a quiet peace to the trip where people can get closer to nature.

In addition to two beautiful boats are narrations provided on the tours. These include the local history of the Erie Canalway, the rise of the railroads and the overall creation of Ithaca, and the natural history of the Finger Lakes region.

“Once we’re out on the lake we have the opportunity to understand how this land form began to look like this through glaciation,” Openshaw said. “Our area is a relatively new formation in the long story of history. This is only 20,000 years old and we can see, while on the lake, evidence of about three or four ice ages through the waterside cliffs. About 500 million years of history is recorded in the rocks, much like rings in a tree.”

Openshaw is very passionate about sharing Cayuga Lake’s history and is excited when people are interested and asking questions on the tours. He said if folks are asking a lot of questions then the tours are doing things right. 

ITB is also now located at Agora of Ithaca Marina at 708 West Buffalo St with their own docking area and parking spaces, which was an investment for Openshaw because he wanted to provide better space and accessibility for tour goers.

“It’s nice to have our little home, a single dock that fits both boats and it’s right downtown,” Openshaw said. “There’s a lot going on on this property yet, but it is a great improvement, especially with the downtown area building and developing even more.”

Openshaw did urge the city and residents to support and be proactive about dredging the inlet to allow for boating in the area to continue and to maintain the area while it is still functional.

“It’s a great resource and it’s wonderful to have a downtown spot to access the lake from and if we continue to do nothing that will no longer be the case,” he concluded.

Ithaca Boat Tours will continue to provide public ticketed and private tours throughout the summer and early fall and have events planned throughout the season. 

For more information about purchasing tickets, private group tours, or events, visit their website at https://ithacaboattours.com/ or call 607-697-0166.