Norwich — Imagine a summer day trip that starts with an order of fish and chips at Johnny’s Clam Shack in Greeneville and continues when you board the Norwich Duck Boat for a drive around town and then a splash into the Thames River for a relaxing boat ride through Norwich Harbor and down the river for a spell.

John Oliveira, owner of Johnny’s Clam Shack, hopes to make that vision a reality by next summer.

In July, Oliveira saw that Ride the Ducks of Seattle had gone out of business, and its duck boats were being auctioned. He bought one for $19,000 and then had it trucked across the country for $9,000 to his clam shack at 184 N. Main St., where it now sits, still sporting its Ride the Ducks of Seattle logo and phone number.

“I would like to do duck boat tours and bring tourism back to Norwich, a town that has been hurting for a long, long time,” said Oliveira, a Navy chief stationed at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton.

The duck boat itself has an interesting history. It was built in 1945 by General Motors for the U.S. Army to bring soldiers ashore in Europe during World War II. Only a few such models remain operational. While he was able to obtain three years of maintenance records on the vehicle — showing it’s in excellent running condition, he said — Oliveira said he hasn’t been able to get any historic records.

“I don’t know if it saw any action during the war,” he said. “It was very hard to get all the records after the coronavirus hit.”

Oliveira and city officials expect to have a busy winter working on his boat tour plan once his seasonal clam shack closes in a few weeks. Oliveira needs a boat captain’s license after taking a navigation test. The boat will need to pass Coast Guard inspections for safety regulations. And Oliveira also needs a commercial driver’s license for the land-based portion of the amphibious tour.

Oliveira is working with city officials, including the Harbor Management Commission, harbormaster, the Norwich Community Development Corp. and the city planning office to help get Norwich Duck Boat Tours up and running.

One logistical problem is finding a suitable boat launch. Harbor Management Commission Chairman H. Tucker Braddock said the duck boat will need a straight-on approach to the water, with enough space to gain momentum both entering the water and returning to land, allowing the wheels to take over and grip the surface.

The city’s boat launch at the Howard T. Brown Memorial Park, with its narrow parking lot, would not allow a straight-on approach, Braddock said. He is exploring other options, including a boat launch across the harbor at an apartment/condominium complex on South Thames Street.

Braddock said Oliveira could consider other boat launches farther downriver, but Braddock hopes to keep the future duck boat operation in Norwich.

“It would be nice to have the duck boat housed in Norwich and have him participate in all our parades,” Braddock said.

Oliveira, too, wants to stay in Norwich and hopes to foster a good working relationship with the city agencies and harbormaster. NCDC President Jason Vincent said he would work with Oliveira on the logistics of what he needs to operate on land and water.

“We are very supportive and excited about the potential opportunities for tourism that the duck boat could present,” City Planner Deanna Rhodes said. “The owner is working with Tucker Braddock and the Harbor Management Commission to locate a suitable approved launch location within the city or close by.”

c.bessette@theday.com