History

Since our founding in 1826, Lake Champlain Transportation Company ferries have been navigating the waters of Lake Champlain, providing an important form of transportation for both industry and recreation.

At the end of the 19^th century, Burlington was the country’s third largest lumber port. Our ferries provided important commercial transportation for goods and lumber, as well as a luxurious form of leisure travel.

Through the years, with the advent of railroads and then the automobile, the steam-powered ferries nearly disappeared.

Today, modern ferries are an integral part of the lake. They are a welcome sight for both commuters and visitors.

Our Current Fleet

M/V Valcour

The “Valcour” was built by the old Champlain Transportation Company and was acquired with the purchase of the company. Built as a flat top with a capacity of 50 cars, the passenger lounge and bathrooms are located below deck. Four Clark 4-cylinder direct reversible engines powered the Valcour.

There were two engine rooms with two engines in each. In 1990, the Valcour was re-powered on one end with a pair of D353 425 HP Caterpillar engines. By re-powering only one end, “single ending her” and removing the forward propellers and rudder it made her a little faster in the water and a lot more economical to run. She still serves the Burlington-Port Kent crossing.

M/V Grand Isle

The “Grand Isle” was built for Lake Champlain Transportation, and at 132 feet, would become the newest vessel to join the fleet at the Grand Isle-Cumberland Head crossing. A true double ender, she was powered by two Buda diesel engines. Over the years, the Grand Isle would go through some major changes. In 1963, two new Caterpillar D353 450 HP engines were installed.

In 1973, the main deck was widened to accommodate larger trucks. Over the next several years, the trucks became longer, and in 1995 the Grand Isle was sailed to Panama City Florida where a local shipyard cut her in half and installed a 38-foot mid body and reconfigured her superstructure. A lounge and new bathrooms were also installed. Her new length was now 169 feet. In 2003, a pair of new Caterpillar 3412E 503 HP engines was installed. The Grand Isle now runs at the Charlotte-Essex crossing.

M/V Adirondack

Built as the “South Jacksonville” for the Jacksonville Ferry and Land Company, this 130-foot double-ended ferryboat had a 40-foot beam and was powered by a coal-fired steam engine. She was put into service on the Saint Johns River between downtown Jacksonville and South Jacksonville. A bridge (a ferryboat’s worst enemy) was built there in 1921, and the boat was no longer needed.

She was sold to the Tocony-Palmyra Ferry Company of Philadelphia and put into service on the Delaware River under the new name, “Mount Holly”. In 1927, she went further north, to New York Harbor. Her new owners, the 34th Street Vehicular Ferry Company, kept the name Mount Holly and put her into service on the East River between Long Island City and the foot of East 34th Street in Manhattan.

In 1936, the national economy was in the midst of the Great Depression. The company failed, when the Mount Holly was a quarter of a century old. New bridges and tunnels were eliminating the need for ferryboats up and down the east coast, making her future gloomy indeed. Yet the Mount Holly survived.

On May 5, 1938, the expanding Chesapeake Bay Ferry Company purchased her. Major rebuilding of the superstructure was done at this time, giving her, to a large extent, the appearance that she has today. She was renamed the “Governor Emerson C Harrington II” and ran on Eastern Bay on the Chesapeake, connecting the communities of Clairborne and Romancoke.

The company was taken over by the State of Maryland in the early forties. In 1945, The Governor Emerson C. Harrington II was sent to the Baltimore Marine Repair Shops where her original steam- and coal-fired boilers where removed and replaced with a pair of 6-cylinder Atlas Imperial diesel engines.

The first span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened in the summer of 1952, and the State of Maryland ceased its ferryboat operations. The Governor Emerson C. Harrington II was for sale again. The Lake Champlain Transportation Company, of Burlington Vermont, purchased her in 1954. The ferryboat that was about become the “Adirondack” (named for the mountain range in Upper New York State) entered a shipyard in Troy, New York, where her upper deck was disassembled and lowered to the car deck. This was done so she could be brought up the Champlain Canal with its low bridge clearances (13 feet) to Lake Champlain. The Adirondack’s second deck was restored to its original position in Burlington, where she began the current phase of her extraordinary and colorful career.

The Adirondack has sailed every summer between Burlington and Port Kent since 1954. Her only major modification during this time was the replacement of the Atlas Imperial engines with two 12V71 Detroit Diesel engines in 1970. The Adirondack is the oldest, in service, double-ended American ferryboat of all time! On January 15, 2013, the “Adi” will celebrate her 100th birthday.

M/V Champlain

Built as the “City of Hampton”, this ferry had a length of 148 feet and was powered by one 550 HP direct reversible diesel engine. The pistons have a 14” bore X 17” stroke with a maximum RPM of 250.

With the opening of several bridges and tunnels The City of Hampton became one of several ferries to be disposed of by the Virginia Department of Highways in 1957. She ran in Hampton Rhodes on a crossing from Old Point Comfort (Fort Monroe) to Willoughby on the Norfolk side. Part of the crossing was in shallow water, so the City of Hampton was built with a flat bottom.

Lake Champlain Transportation purchased the City of Hampton in November of 1957, and made arrangements for her to be towed from Norfolk, Virginia and Waterford, New York. While in Waterford, the upper deck was carefully cut loose and lowered onto the main deck. This would give her enough clearance to pass under the low bridges during the northward trip to Lake Champlain. Renamed the “Champlain”, she joins the Valcour and the Adirondack on the Burlington-to-Port Kent crossing.

M/V Governor D. Aiken

Built to Lake Champlain Transportation’s specifications, this ferry was named after a former Governor of Vermont. The “Aiken” is a 132-foot double-ended ferry, equipped with a heated bathroom, passenger lounge, and outdoor seating on the lounge deck.

The Aiken can carry up to 26 cars and is built strong enough to carry large trucks up to 40 tons. In the engine room are two Detroit 12V-71 diesel engines coupled to a Twin Disc MG-514 marine transmission, and a 20 KW generator provides the electrical power. Equipped with a hydraulic steering system and radar, the Aiken joined the Grand Isle on the Grand Isle-Cumberland Head crossing. Now the Aiken and the Grand Isle are operating on the Charlotte-Essex crossing.

M/V Plattsburgh

Built to Lake Champlain Transportation’s specifications, the 172-foot “Plattsburgh” was built to run in the ice at the Grand Isle-Cumberland Head crossing. With stainless steel propellers, a beefed-up hull, and two 700HP 3508 Caterpillar diesel engines, the Plattsburgh became a workhorse for the company. She has two bathrooms on the main deck, and a second deck for the passenger lounge.

The Plattsburgh joined the Grand Isle to keep up with a growing crossing of trucks and commuters.

M/V Evans Wadhams Wolcott

Built to Lake Champlain Transportation’s specifications, the “EWW” is named after the three previous owners of Lake Champlain Transportation: Lewis P. Evans, Richard Wadhams, and James G. Wolcott.

The 196-foot EWW was built for the rugged winter weather and ice conditions on the Grand Isle-Cumberland Head crossing, and is equipped with stainless steel propellers and powered by two 775 HP Caterpillar 3508 diesel engines.

The EWW is our first ‘take-apart’ ferryboat. With the bridge clearance along the Champlain Barge Canal at 13 feet, she was built with flanges at the passenger lounge and pilothouse decks, which enabled us to un-bolt each deck, and using a crane, lower each deck to the main deck. Temporary steering and engine controls were installed from the relocated pilothouse, for the trip up the canal to Lake Champlain.

Upon arrival in Burlington, Vermont, the EWW was reassembled. In the past, we would torch cut the passenger and pilothouse decks apart and re-weld them. This was a very time-consuming job that required cleaning and painting of the burnt areas.

With the growing truck and commuter traffic the “EWW” was a welcome addition to the crossing.

M/V Vermont

Built to Lake Champlain Transportation’s specifications, the “Vermont” is 196 feet in length. She joined the EWW on the Grand Isle-Cumberland Head crossing. With a larger passenger lounge and handicapped accessible bathrooms on the main deck, and built for the rugged winter weather and ice conditions, she is equipped with stainless steel propellers and powered by two Caterpillar 3508 diesel engines at a horsepower of 775 each.

The Vermont is our second ‘take-apart’ ferryboat. With the bridge clearance along the Champlain Barge Canal at 13 feet, the Vermont was built with flanges at the passenger lounge and pilothouse decks, which enabled us to un-bolt each deck, and using a crane, lower each deck to the main deck.

Temporary steering and engine controls were installed from the relocated pilothouse, for the trip up the canal to Lake Champlain. Upon arrival in Burlington, Vermont, the Vermont was reassembled. In the past we would torch cut the passenger and pilothouse decks apart and re-weld them. This was a very time-consuming job that required cleaning and painting of the burnt areas.

With the growing truck and commuter traffic the longer “Vermont” was a welcome addition to the crossing

M/V Cumberland

Built to Lake Champlain Transportation’s specifications, the “Cumberland” is 216 feet in length. She joined the EWW and Vermont on the Grand Isle-Cumberland Head crossing. Also built for the rugged winter weather and ice conditions on Lake Champlain, she is equipped with stainless steel propellers and powered by two 855 HP Caterpillar 3508B diesel engines.

The Cumberland is our third ‘take-apart’ ferryboat. With the bridge clearance along the Champlain Barge Canal at 13 feet, she was built with flanges at the passenger lounge and pilothouse decks, which enabled us to un-bolt each deck, and using a crane, lower each deck to the main deck.

Temporary steering and engine controls were installed from the relocated pilothouse for the trip up the canal to Lake Champlain. Upon arrival in Burlington, Vermont the Cumberland was reassembled. In the past we would torch cut the passenger and pilothouse decks apart and re-weld them. This was a very time-consuming job that required cleaning and painting of the burnt areas.

With the growing truck and commuter traffic, the longer Cumberland was a welcome addition to the crossing.

M/V Raymond C. Pecor, Jr.

Built to Lake Champlain Transportation’s specifications, the “Raymond C. Pecor, Jr.” was designed by John Gilbert Associates and is 216 feet in length. She joins her sister ship the Cumberland on the Grand Isle-Cumberland Head crossing. Also built for the rugged winter weather and ice conditions on Lake Champlain, she is equipped with stainless steel propellers and powered by two 1000 HP Caterpillar 3508C diesel engines.

The Raymond C. Pecor Jr. is our fourth ‘take-apart’ ferryboat, similar to the construction of the Cumberland. With the bridge clearance along the Champlain Barge Canal at 13 feet, the RCP Jr. was built with flanges at the passenger lounge and pilothouse decks, which enabled us to un-bolt the decks, and, using a crane, lower each one to the main deck.

Temporary steering and engine controls were installed from the relocated pilothouse, and the trip was made up the canal to Lake Champlain. Upon arriving in Burlington, VT, the RCP Jr. was reassembled.

The Raymond C. Pecor Jr. is named after the previous owner of Lake Champlain Transportation, Ray Pecor Jr., who acquired LCT in 1976. Today the company is owned by his son, Ray Pecor III.