The Fintry Queen at anchor in Sutherland Bay in Kelowna.

(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)

A former business partner, and one-time advocate for trying to get the beleaguered Fintry Queen up and running, is suing over an alleged $50,000 loan.

According to a Feb. 13 Notice of Claim, William Carey Hockley is suing the Fintry Queen's previous owner Andy Schwab saying he was never paid back after lending him $50,000 a decade ago.

The court document claims the two men had a verbal agreement dating back to 2014 whereby Hockley lent Schwab $50,000 which would be paid back when the boat sold.

Hockley wasn't aware the boat had been sold until media reports surfaced last fall saying the one-time car ferry had been bought by the Okanagan Luxury Boat Club.

He then asked for his money back.

However, Schwab "failed, neglected, and/or refused to respond to the demand," the Notice of Claim read.

The court document didn't give a history or definition of Hockley and Schwab's business relationship but previous media coverage referred to them as business partners.

The court document said the Okanagan Lake Boat Company owned the boat and its sole shareholder and director was Schweb.

A 2016 story referred to Hockley being the Fintry Queen's new president and chief executive officer and said he had an investment in the boat. The two men also talked about being friends.

Schwab has been the public face of the boat, and his efforts to get it up and running have been widely reported.

Media reports said Schwab bought it out of receivership more than 15 years ago and in 2015 attempted to raise $600,000 to get it up and running.

That didn't happen and a year later he was on the hook for $7,000 worth of unpaid moorage fees, which the City of Kelowna took legal action on.

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The former car ferry turned dinner cruise ship was then ordered to move from Sutherland Bay after the City of Kelowna got a court order.

By the end of the summer of 2016, Schwab had sailed the boat to the north arm of Okanagan Lake.

Not giving up, Schwab continued with his plan to get the boat sailing again pitching multiple ideas and looking for investors.

In 2022, he launched a plan to raise $1 million and get the support of local governments. It never happened.

"Despite two decades of frustration, Andy Schwab is not giving up on his dream of turning a ferry that predates the original Okanagan Lake bridge, into a cruise ship," reads an iNFOnews.ca story from 2023.

However, a year later it was up for sale for $550,000.

The court documents said the terms of the sale to the Okanagan Luxury Boat Club are unknown.

The Notice of Claim said that since Hockley lent Schwab the $50,000 he never once made a demand for the money to be returned or for the 5% interest accrued each year.

"(Schwab) breached an oral agreement between the parties by failing to repay a $50,000 loan plus 5% interest upon demand and sale of the (boat)," the Notice of Claim read.

Called the MV Lequime, the boat was originally used to ferry vehicles from between Kelowna and West Kelowna until 1958 when the first bridge across Okanagan Lake was opened. After that it was converted into a replica paddlewheeler and used as a floating restaurant and a tour boat off and on until 2000.

None of the allegations have been proven in court and Schwab has not yet filed a statement of defence.

Schwab could not be reached by publication time and Hockley's lawyer didn't reply to our request for comment.

For more stories about the Fintry Queen go here.

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