POINT PLEASANT -- Bill Wiemuth is passionate about the Delta Queen.

As the official historian for the 81-year-old riverboat, he tells passengers and visitors about the vessel's storied past. And he can't imagine life without the sternwheeler, which this fall could become a possibility.

"I love cruises on the upper Ohio River," he said. "I hope to continue them for years to come."

Wiemuth was one of the featured speakers during a Save the Delta Queen Rally that took place after the sternwheeler docked in Point Pleasant Sept. 16. The event featured music and speakers from around the region.

Barring congressional action, the riverboat will be forced to retire Nov. 1, thanks to the expiration of an exemption to the 1966 Safety at Sea Act, Wiemuth said. The act requires all ships and boats that carry overnight passengers to be constructed of fire-resistant material. The Delta Queen has a double-steel hull, but the superstructure, the part of the boat that towers three stories over the water, is made mostly of wood.

Since 1966, the Delta Queen has received a number of exemptions from the act. The most recent, a 10-year exemption, is set to expire Nov. 1. Unless Congress approves another exemption, the boat will have to cease operation, Wiemuth said. If that happens, the boat's future is uncertain.

"We really don't know right now," he said. "It could become a floating hotel, but the heart of the Delta Queen is in its operation (on the rivers). It wouldn't be the same."

Keeping the sternwheeler on the river is important for a number of reasons, Wiemuth said during the rally.

"Why save the Delta Queen?" he asked the crowd. "It's a national historic landmark and a piece of American history. It's the last steamboat that carries overnight passengers. It harkens back to the paddlewheel era."

The Delta Queen was constructed in 1927 and worked for 13 years in California, Wiemuth said. In 1940, the boat was used by the U.S. Navy in San Francisco Harbor. It continued Navy service during World War II, after which it was sold at auction.

A Cincinnati man purchased the Delta Queen in 1947. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated a National Historic Landmark.

Safety concerns about the Delta Queen have been exaggerated, Wiemuth said.

And there are reasons other that just the boat's history to save it, said Charles Humphreys, executive director of Main Street Point Pleasant. The Delta Queen is one of 22 riverboats scheduled to stop in Point Pleasant during this tourist season, he said.

"They've been pretty regular," he said. "We have a big month planned next month."

Each riverboat brings tourists to the town who patronize local businesses while visiting historic attractions, he said.

The rally caught the attention of officials on both sides of the Ohio River. Bob Hood, executive director of the Gallia County Convention and Visitors Bureau across the river in Ohio, pointed out how interdependent the two communities are.

"Tourism here is regional," he said. "... You have something here that the whole state of West Virginia and Ohio can be proud of in this Riverfront Park. ... Tourists who visit here are potential return visitors."

Information about efforts to save the Delta Queen is online at www.save-the-delta-queen.org. Wienmuth's personal Delta Queen Web site is at www.deltaqueenhistory.com.