Chi-Cheemaun
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The Chi-Cheemaun is a passenger and car ferry in Ontario, Canada, which traverses Lake Huron between Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula and South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island. The ferry connects the two geographically separated portions of Highway 6.
A trip aboard the M.S. Chi-Cheemaun is a long-standing Great Lakes tradition dating back to the 1930's when a small, wooden vessel, the Kagawong, first ferried automobiles across the waters of Georgian Bay between Tobermory and South Baymouth.
Chi-Cheemaun.jpg
At the time of its launch, the $12 million Canadian Chi-Cheemaun was the "largest, most modern vessel ever built for ferry service on the Great Lakes." It features drive-on, drive-off bow and stern loading and unloading through a visored bow system and a square door stern section. The ship is 365 feet long with a 62 foot beam and has capacity for 638 passengers and 113 vehicles, including room for 17 highway vehicles such as buses and transport trucks.
The ship is powered by two Ruston 3500 horse power diesel engines and an 800 horse power "bow thruster" engine which improves the handling of the vessel at slow speeds. The additon of two mezzanine decks in 1982 increased the ship's vehicle carrying capacity to 143.
Chi-Cheemaun (or rather chi-jiimaan) means "big canoe" in Ojibwe.
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Facts
- Official Number...........346838
- Builders..................Collingwood Shipyard Canada
- Construction Commenced....January 1974
- Navigation Commenced......September 10, 1974
- Length Overall............365 feet (111.3 meters)
- Length between perpendiculars..........346 feet (101.8 meters)
- Breadth Molded............62 feet ( 18.6 meters)
- Depth Molded to Upper Deck...........39 feet ( 6.4 meters)
- Draft Forward.............11.6 feet ( 3.53 meters)
- Draft Aft.................12.6 feet ( 3.97 meters)
- Gross Tonnage.............6990
- Net Tonnage...............4821
- Fuel Consumption per Sailing............1600 litres
- Speed.....................16 1/4 knots
- Diesels (2)...............16 cyclinder Ruston
- Horsepower................3520 each; total 7,040 HP available
- Engine Speed..............700 revolutions/minute
- Shaft Speed...............210 revolutions/minute
- Propellor.................Variable Pitch
- Passengers................638
- Standard................. North American
- Automobiles............140
- Powerplant: 2x 3,500 hp diesel, 1x 800 hp bow thruster
- As of 2004, 85000 vehicles and 220000 passengers have taken the Chi-Cheemaun
Compare
- Spirit of Ontario I, a ferry on Lake Ontario
External links
- Official website (http://chicheemaun.com/index.asp)
- Ship particulars (http://continuouswave.com/north-channel/chi-cheemaun.html)
- Fare and Schedule Information (http://www.bmts.com/%7Enorthland/chiche/chiche.html)
Reference
- "She's one big happy canoe", Toronto Star, June 4, 2005 p A3