{"id":18013,"date":"2015-10-06T19:17:03","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T23:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/10\/an-experience-on-a-party-boat-led-pair-of-women-into-starting-a-tour-boat-business.html"},"modified":"2015-10-06T19:17:03","modified_gmt":"2015-10-06T23:17:03","slug":"an-experience-on-a-party-boat-led-pair-of-women-into-starting-a-tour-boat-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/10\/an-experience-on-a-party-boat-led-pair-of-women-into-starting-a-tour-boat-business\/","title":{"rendered":"An Experience On A Party Boat Led Pair Of Women Into Starting A Tour Boat Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\"mohawkmadncruz-vc.jpg\"\n<\/div>\n
\u00a92015 Saratoga Photographer.com Marla Hodge, left, and Maria Saavedra are the owners of Mohawk Maiden Cruise\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY ANDREA PALMER<\/p>\n

Marla Hodge and Maria Saavedra are the
\nowners and captains of Mohawk Maiden Cruise,
\na company that provides excursions and tours
\nout of Schuylervillle of the Champlain Canal and
\nUpper Hudson River.<\/p>\n

They run the tours on the Caldwell Bell, an authentic,
\nchain-driven sternwheel paddle boat. The
\n45-passenger vessel operates out of Loch C5 near
\nSchuylerville and travels the entire Champlain
\nCanal and Upper Hudson River. The boat is also
\navailable to be the site of special events.<\/p>\n

“We were living in Albany and I was feeling like
\nsomething was missing in my life–I was in a rut,”
\nHodge said about the idea for the company. “I grew
\nup in Georgia, on the water–so I thought, I need
\nto get back on the water. ”<\/p>\n

“I got on the internet, just looking for boat rides,
\nand found Champlain Canal Tour Boat. And I
\nsaw the boat was for sale. I didn’t think that much
\nabout it at first because I thought, I can’t afford to
\nbuy a big ol’ boat, let alone drive it. Fast forward
\nsix months, and a friend of Maria’s gave her some
\ntickets to a party boat down in Troy,” she recalled.<\/p>\n

“We went and had a great time, and Maria said
\nto me, ‘You know, I could do this every day’. I said
\nto her, ‘Well you know, there’s a boat for sale on
\nthe Champlain Canal.’ Next thing I know, here I
\nam,” said Hodge.<\/p>\n

Both women were working in retail at the
\ntime. Saavedra also owns Eagle Ink LLC, a graphic
\ndesign firm.
\nHodge and Saavedra put their entire livelihoods
\ninto the boat venture.
\n“We threw in everything we had. The opportunity
\npresented itself and we took it”, said Hodge.<\/p>\n

“This is our third season and it has been our
\nbest season yet. Each year we grow a little more,
\nespecially as we get more savvy about marketing,” she said.
\n“Our biggest concern is always weather, specifically
\nwind. We had a group from California that did
\nthe entire canal and unfortunately, we got some of
\nthe weather from [Hurricane] Joaquin. It was very
\nwet and windy weather. They were a hardy bunch,
\nbut it was just brutal on the water,” said Hodge.<\/p>\n

Hodge and Saavedra are both captains, and their
\nchildren are involved as well.
\n“It’s a totally family-run business. Maria and
\nI run the boat. Our sons have worked for us as
\ndeckhands for the past three seasons,” said Hodge.<\/p>\n

The website is www.mohawkmaidencruises.com. The business is also on Facebook.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a92015 Saratoga Photographer.com Marla Hodge, left, and Maria Saavedra are the owners of Mohawk Maiden CruiseBY ANDREA PALMER Marla Hodge and Maria Saavedra are the owners and captains of Mohawk Maiden Cruise, a company that provides excursions and tours…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":24213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[57,119],"class_list":["post-18013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","tag-business-news","tag-schuylerville"],"yoast_head":"\r\nAn Experience On A Party Boat Led Pair Of Women Into Starting A Tour Boat Business - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/10\/an-experience-on-a-party-boat-led-pair-of-women-into-starting-a-tour-boat-business\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Experience On A Party Boat Led Pair Of Women Into Starting A Tour Boat Business - 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