The W.P. Snyder J.R has been anchored in the Muskingum River since September 16, 1955, and Friday the 91-year-old towboat will be making a 146 mile voyage downstream to the McGinnis Shipyard in South Point Ohio to have the hull replaced.

The repairs are expected to take about eight months, and cost 1.5 million dollars.

One Marietta man remembers the day the boat made its way into town.

"I've watched it ever since it's been here so I'm just glad to see it leave, and get some much needed maintenance, " said Joseph Rutter.

Rutter said the day the boat was docked there was a band and hundreds of people came out to see it.

Grants and donations from various organizations made the preservation of the boat possible.