Nova Scotia’s minister of communities, culture and heritage says the Bluenose II may not be ready to sail this summer, as the cost of restoring the famed schooner balloons to nearly $18 million.

Tony Ince remains optimistic the vessel will be seaworthy for at least a portion of the tourist season. However, he says continued problems with the vessel's steering system mean it will need to undergo a test drive in Lunenburg harbour ahead of sea trials.

If the test drive goes poorly, it could mean the Bluenose II will be headed back to dry dock for most of the summer.

“That test drive is just going to take the vessel in Lunenburg Harbour, then we can move towards the sea trials,” says Ince.

Ince says no date has been set for the test drive, but he expects it will happen soon.

“It’s possible that it could be done in enough time and still have the sailing season, part of the sailing season,” says Ince.

The Bluenose II was supposed to return to regular sailing in the summer of 2012 after an extensive two-year rebuild at a cost of $15.9 million, but the restoration of the schooner has been plagued by delays.

In September, Peter Kinley, who heads the Lunenburg Shipyard Alliance, expressed concerns about switching to a steel rudder from the original wooden one.

At the time, he said the steel rudder was three tonnes heavier than the vessel’s original wooden rudder, and would affect the handling of the boat.

The Liberals inherited the Bluenose II restoration project from the NDP government. NDP MLA Lenore Zann says she doesn’t like the delays and the increasing costs, but says there are no regrets.

“I believe that we’re going to be doing tests to see how it floats and if it does float and how well it sails and I’m looking forward to it,” says Zann.

As construction continues on the Bluenose II, the province’s auditor general has been asked to look into the project and its costs.

“They’ve been speaking to staff, they’ve been speaking to people that have been involved in the project,” confirms Ince.

“It’s the minister’s probably biggest file,” says Nova Scotia Tory MLA Karla MacFarlane. “He should be on top of it and he should have answers.”

It took three months and $34,000 to build the original Bluenose in 1921. The schooner was fishing in the same year it was built.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Rick Grant and The Canadian Press