The MV Arcadia II is a magnificent 17m (54ft) craft built of Huon Pine in 1939, and listed on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels in 2009.
She has a leisurely cruising speed of 9 knots. Originally a luxury pleasure craft based in Hobart, it was requisitioned to serve in the Second World War in New Guinea as a supply ship. After some seasons as a scallop fishing boat on the East coast working from the Coles Bay area, the Arcadia II was commissioned as a cruise boat on Macquarie Harbour and the Gordon River in 1961.
In 1970, she moved to the Pieman where she faithfully served her new owners, the Ellis brothers, who introduced the first regular cruises on the Pieman River. In 2006, she travelled to Launceston, where she was refurbished, refitted and returned to her original pristine condition. The journey out of the Heads and back, was the first since 1970. The vessel now operates the famous Pieman River Cruise for Corinna Wilderness Village. MV Arcadia II is the only Huon Pine river cruiser still operating anywhere in the world.
Corinna offers another, shorter Pieman River Cruise on a 6.5m (21ft) Yamaha vessel called the Sweetwater Cruise. With a third option of chartering a trip to the Pieman Heads on the one time Gordon River catamaran, the Lady Jane Franklin II, guests have a variety of ways to access the wide diversity of the Tasmanian west coast.
All cruise experiences at Corinna are an uplifting and authentic experience, rich in history, nature and personal anecdotes.