August 2025

Full Steam Ahead: Meet the Engineers Behind Lake Geneva’s Historic Yacht

In an age of high-tech engines and automated everything, there’s a small, fascinating world powered by steam, and five extraordinary men who’ve chosen to spend their retirement at its helm. These aren’t your average retirees. While many dream of quiet days on the golf course or long afternoons in the garden, these men have traded in rocking chairs for the rhythmic hum of a boiler room. As steam yacht engineers on an historic excursion boat, they work behind the scenes to keep a rare piece of maritime history alive and moving.

We’ll introduce you to five individuals whose stories are as rich and distinctive as the vessel they serve. Step aboard and meet the team that fuels more than just the ship, they fuel its legacy.

First off, you need to meet the boat herself. The beautiful 73’ long Steam Yacht Louise was built in 1902 for John and Louise Mitchell of Ceylon Court, a former estate located just a short distance from Lake Geneva. She joined the excursion fleet in 1930, and underwent a complete restoration from 1975 to 1978, when she was converted back to steam power from gasoline. A 1928 Plenty and Sons steam engine was installed and today she is the only lake yacht running on steam. Unlike the other boats in the Lake Geneva Cruise Line fleet, the Louise requires both a captain and an engineer to operate.

While the captain navigates the boat, the engineer is responsible for all other operations including the speed and tempo of the steam engine. The captain can steer, but the engineer provides the necessary power to maneuver the boat and the two must be of one mind in approaching and safely docking all the while communicating blindly via intercom. The captain does not have direct control of the throttle and he must work as a team with the engineer using verbal commands to safely dock the Louise regardless of wind conditions. It’s a very technical job and one that requires a lot of training and precision on both parts. 

Lake Geneva Cruise Line employs five men who work as steam yacht engineers. All five are very dedicated, and take great pride in their jobs. In addition to doing this job on a very unique boat, all five are unique in their own right as well. The veteran of the group, Ken Boeschen, was hired in 2008 after retiring from his thirty three year career in education. He was a technical education and physical education teacher in Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills, Illinois. Ken has also written a handbook for the other engineers which has been a great resource in their training. 

The next hire was in 2017 when Bob Guida filled another engineer spot. Bob has been a boater on Lake Geneva for over 50 years. In his personal life, he has always been self employed, owning and operating retail clothing and shoe stores in Chicago for over 20 years, and more recently selling and servicing anti-shoplifting systems for retail stores. When Bob was hired he was asked if he wanted to be an engineer, and he claims he did not even know what that was! However, his knowledge of mechanical operations made him a great fit for the job.

In 2018 two new engineers joined the team. Michael Jones spent his entire 45 year career in education. He taught 9th grade earth and space science, and astronomy and electronics in several college appointments, eventually transitioning to industrial technical training in private industry. He designed and developed lesson material and hands-on laboratory experiences in support of company products for both distributors and customers, and delivered this training not only here in the US, but also for divisions abroad in the Asia Pacific region and in Europe.

The other new Engineer in 2018 was Lyle Wolff who worked for over 25 years with Siemens Corporation and the rest of his 40 year career at Evan’s Products in Woodstock, Illinois, manufacturer of railroad car parts, truck trailers, and steel fabrications. 

In 2022, after celebrating his 70th birthday aboard the Louise, John Long fell in love with the Steam Yacht Louise so he applied to work at Lake Geneva Cruise Line and rounded out the engineer roster. John has had a very extensive career working as an engineer in power plants. He worked in many capacities for Commonwealth Edison in Chicago and at various other locations around Illinois. In December, 1999 the ComEd 10 fossil power plants were sold to Edison Mission Energy and John was hired as vice president of Engineering and Technical Services. In 2002, he was recruited to be President of Constellation Power Generation for Constellation Energy in Annapolis, Maryland responsible for a fleet of 35 power plants in 13 states across the US. He retired from Constellation in 2012, but continues to work part time for Sargent & Lundy Engineers as a principal consultant.

All five of the engineers say that they love working on the Louise and enjoy explaining to guests the history of the boat and how the steam engine works. All of them feel they benefit from their previous life experiences which carry over to being an engineer. Mike Jones also repairs and restores clocks, watches, and antique music boxes. Ken, having taught in school shops, has a very good grasp on anything mechanical, especially machinery and how it works. John, Bob, and Lyle all had experience in technical operations that directly benefited them in their current engineering position.

They agree that dealing with hot and humid weather is by far the biggest challenge of being an engineer. On hot days it can get up to over 110 degrees in the engine room. John said he loses 4-5 pounds on a two hour charter on those very hot days. As for the best part, they all express similar sentiments. They all have a very special connection with the boat and feel very lucky to have this experience. Mike says that driving the boat back from a charter after the passengers have disembarked makes you feel like you own your own private yacht! Ken appreciates getting to meet many different and extraordinary people, and working with some of the nicest people you can imagine. Lyle says there is always something new to learn about the boat, the engine, the lakefront homes, and the guests on the boat. And for Bob, he simply says “I love being an engineer on the Louise. She is very special to me.”