MS Chi-Cheemaun
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The MS 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-separate portions of Highway 6 and is the vessel that replaced the M.S. Norgoma and the S.S. Norisle in 1974. The ferry service runs seasonally from mid-May to mid-October.
Chi-Cheemaun (or rather chi-jiimaan) means 'big canoe' in Ojibwe.
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[edit] History
A trip aboard the MS Chi-Cheemaun is a long-standing Great Lakes tradition dating back to the 1930s when a small, wooden vessel, the Kagawong, first ferried automobiles across the waters of Georgian Bay between Tobermory and South Baymouth.
At the time of its launch, the $12 million Canadian MS Chi-Cheemaun was the 'largest, most modern vessel ever built for ferry service on the Great Lakes'. It features a 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 (111 m) long with a 62 foot (19 m) beam and has capacity for 715 passengers and 160 vehicles, including room for large highway vehicles such as buses and transport trucks.
The ship is powered by two Ruston 3500 horsepower (2.6 MW) diesel engines and an 800 horsepower (600 kW) 'bow thruster' engine which improves the handling of the vessel at slow speeds. During the 2006/07 layover period, received four new Caterpillar V8 diesels.[1] The addition of two mezzanine decks in 1982 increased the ship's vehicle carrying capacity to 240.
Like its predecessor ships in Lake Huron, the MS Chi-Cheemaun is owned by the Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited, (an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines) and operated under contract to the Ministry of Transportation. The ship makes the 25-mile (40-km) trip in about 1¾ hours 4 times each day, during peak season and 2 times a day during May and October.
For a short time, (1989 - 1992) the MS Chi-Cheemaun had a sister ship, the MS Nindawayma, which ran the same route. However, the MS Nindawayma was retired because of service problems leading to public dissatisfaction and now sits rusting in Sault Ste. Marie.
[edit] Information radio
Two low-power radio stations, CHEI (89.9 FM in South Baymouth) and CHEE (89.9 FM in Tobermory) broadcast tourist notices and schedule information for travellers on the ferry. [2]
[edit] Facts
| Official number | 346838 |
| Builders | Collingwood Shipyard Canada |
| Construction commenced | January 1974 |
| Navigation commenced | September 10, 1974 |
| Length overall | 365 ft (111 m) |
| Length between perpendiculars | 346 ft (102 m) |
| Breadth moulded | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Depth molded to upper deck | 39 ft (6.4 m) |
| Draft forward | 11.6 feet (3.53 m) |
| Draft aft | 12.6 feet (3.97 m) |
| Gross tonnage | 6990 |
| Net tonnage | .4821 |
| Fuel consumption per sailing | 1600 litres |
| Service Speed | 16 1/4 knots (30 km/h) |
| Diesels (2) | 16 cylinder Ruston |
| Power | 3520 hp (2620 kW) each; total 7,040 hp (5250 kW) available |
| Engine speed | 700 revolutions/minute |
| Shaft speed | 210 revolutions/minute |
| Propellor | Variable-pitch |
| Passenger capacity | 638 |
| Standard | North American |
| Automobile capacity | 143 |
| Powerplant | 2 x 3,500 hp (2.6 MW) diesel, 1 x 800 hp (600 kW) bow thruster |
As of 2004, 85,000 vehicles 220,000 Passengers have taken the MS Chi-Cheemaun.
[edit] Additional images
 The MS Chi-Cheemaun at Tobermory with her bow open to accept passenger vehicles. |
 MS Chi-Cheemaun in Owen Sound. |
[edit] Compare
- Spirit of Ontario I, a ferry on Lake Ontario
- S.S. Badger, a larger ferry on Lake Michigan
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Algie, Jim. [3] "Chi-Cheemaun back in local water", The Owen Sound Sun Times, April 27, 2007. Accessed April 30, 2007.
- 'She's one big happy canoe', Toronto Star, June 4, 2005 p A3
