SS Badger sailing in Manitowoc harbor
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | SS Badger |
Namesake | University of Wisconsin Badgers |
Owner | Interlake Maritime Services |
Route | US 10, Ludington, Michigan–Manitowoc, Wisconsin |
Builder | Christy Corporation, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin |
Yard number | Hull No. 370 |
Launched | September 6, 1952 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Walter J. Kohler (wife of Governor of Wisconsin) |
In service | March 21, 1953 |
Identification |
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Nickname(s) | "The Big Badger" (Charles F. Conrad's favorite description) |
Status | Active |
General characteristics | |
Type | Passenger and automobile car ferry |
Tonnage | 4,244 gross tons[1] |
Displacement | 6,650 tons[1] |
Length | 410 ft 6 in (125.12 m)[1] |
Beam | 59 ft 6 in (18.14 m)[1] |
Height | 106 ft 9 in (32.54 m)[1] |
Depth | 24 ft (7.32 m) molded depth |
Decks | 2 passenger, 2 vehicle |
Installed power | Steam, coal-fired |
Propulsion | Two four-cylinder compound Skinner Unaflow steam engines, totaling 7,000 shp (5.22 MW); four Foster-Wheeler water-tube type D boilers, 470 psi (3.24 MPa)[2] |
Speed |
|
Capacity | 620 passengers, 180 automobiles, also tour buses, RVs, motorcycles, and commercial trucks |
Crew | 50–60 |
SS Badger | |
Location | 700 S. William Street, Ludington, Michigan |
Coordinates | 43°56′57″N 86°27′04″W / 43.94917°N 86.45111°W |
NRHP reference No. | 09000679[3] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | December 11, 2009 |
Designated NHL | January 20, 2016[5] |
Designated MSHS | March 6, 1997[4] |
SS Badger is a passenger and vehicle ferry in the United States that has been in service on Lake Michigan since 1953. Currently, the ship shuttles between Ludington, Michigan, and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, a distance of 62 miles (100 km), connecting U.S. Highway 10 (US 10) between those two cities. She is the last coal-fired passenger vessel operating on the Great Lakes, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on January 20, 2016.
The ship is named after the University of Wisconsin's athletic teams, the Wisconsin Badgers.[6] Badger runs on Michigan time (Eastern Time Zone, whereas Wisconsin is in the Central Time Zone) and riders pay Michigan taxes on their fares. She runs on a seasonal basis from May to October.[7]