Vacationland (ferry)
Vacationland on a period post card
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| History | |
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| Name: |
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| Owner: |
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| Ordered: | 1949 |
| Builder: | Great Lakes Engineering Works |
| Cost: | $4,745,000 |
| Yard number: | 296 |
| Launched: | 1951 |
| Sponsored by: | Barbara Ann Ziegler |
| Christened: | 1951 |
| Completed: | 1952 |
| Fate: | Sank under tow 1987 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Auto Ferry |
| Length: | 360 ft (110 m) |
| Beam: | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draft: | 16–18 ft (4.9–5.5 m) |
| Deck clearance: | 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) |
| Installed power: | 4 × Nordberg direct drive diesel engines |
| Capacity: | 150 automobiles, 600 passengers |
| Crew: | 47 |
Vacationland was an automobile ferry that operated in Michigan's Straits of Mackinac between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace from 1952 to 1957, when the Mackinac Bridge was completed.
Vacationland was built in 1952 by Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, Michigan for the State of Michigan's Department of Highways at a cost of $4,745,000. She was designed by Prof. L. A. Baier of the University of Michigan's Marine Engineering Department, in conjunction with H. M. Varian, superintendent of Great Lakes Engineering Works. The vessel was powered by 4 Nordberg direct-drive diesel engines, each connected to a propeller through a Westinghouse electro-magnetic coupling, generating a total of nearly 10,000 horsepower. Christened in 1951 by 14-year-old Barbara Ziegler, the daughter of Michigan's Highway Commissioner, Charles M. Ziegler, Vacationland was the last ship built for the Highway Department ferry operation. It was designed to carry 150 automobiles, to relieve heavy traffic congestion at the Straits during the summer season, and also to serve as an icebreaker during winter months to keep the route open all year.
Prior to Vacationland's arrival, starting in 1923, the Highway Department operated a fleet of coal-fired steamers, several of which were former railroad ferries, purchased second hand from Lake Michigan operators. In winter months, to perform the icebreaking, the state had also chartered the railroad ferry, Sainte Marie (II), which had to land at separate docking facilities on each side of the Straits.
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