The Vim was originally built as the Hattie Brown, a single deck sternwheeler at Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania in 1895. Her dimensions were:- 125 x 22.6 x 4.3 feet. She was built for J. W. Rice of Zanesville, Ohio and her engines came from the Lizzie Cassel. They were 12's with a 4-foot stroke. She ran various short trades on the Ohio River. The Hattie Brown was rebuilt at Jeffersonville, Indiana in 1915 and renamed the Vim. She was owned by the Louisville and Cincinnati Packet Company. The Vim came out in June, 1919 for the Madison and Kentucky River trade. In August 1919 her name was changed to Richard Roe. In March, 1921 she was in the Madison and Monterey trade, Kentucky River. Later Captain Lewis Tanner bought and used her for towing.