SS Badger arrives in Sturgeon Bay for an inspection and new paint job

Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter

MANITOWOC - The popular SS Badger is away from her home for a bit for a long-awaited sprucing up.

The popular car ferry traveled this week to Sturgeon Bay, where she will stay for about a month, getting cleaned, repaired and repainted.

The Badger left Ludington, Michigan, at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, towed by two tugs from Sarter Marine Towing and arrived about 12 hours later in Door County, entering through the channel at Sturgeon Bay.

She will be drydocked and go into the yard around Nov. 15, according to Sara Spore, general manager of Lake Michigan Carferry, Inc.

The U.S. Coast Guard requires the ship to be inspected every five years. The Badger last made the trip to Sturgeon Bay in 2015, but because of her fresh-water operations and seasonality, Interlake Steamship Company, the ferry’s parent company, received an extension for an additional year.

Because the Badger’s steam engines and operations have been shut down for the season, she is hauled by tugboat to Door County and back, rather than sailing by her own power.

The car ferry has been designated a National Historic Landmark in recognition of its heritage and significance on the Great Lakes. The ship has not changed much in 60 years, when it was built by the Christy Corporation of Sturgeon Bay for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway to carry railroad freight cars across the waters, and also to provide passenger accommodations.

She now carries vehicles and 600 passengers on a four-hour trip across Lake Michigan between Ludington and Manitowoc.

She will be pulled out of the water and will have a full inspection of the underwater portion of the hull. Workers will pull the tail shaft and redo her bearings. The ship will be blasted and painted for the first time since it was operated by the railroad, and the color scheme for the ship will remain the same.

Spore said the company will add an epoxy undercoat to further protect the hull.

The Badger will head back to Ludington for the winter in about four weeks.

The company just set dates for the ferry’s next season in 2022, which will start May 12 and end Oct. 16, and plans to offer two trips a day June 10 through Sept. 5. Spore said the company plans to offer typical cruises during the season, including an evening cruise in Manitowoc in 2022.

Visit https://www.ssbadger.com/ for more information. Reservations will open on the website at 9 a.m. Nov. 8.

Got a tip, question or comment for Streetwise Manitowoc? Contact reporter Patti Zarling at pzarling@gannett.com or call 920-606-2586. Follow her on Twitter @PGPattiZarling.