Ann Arbor Car Ferry No. 7/The Viking
Built by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company of Manitowoc, WI for the Ann Arbor Railroad Co. of Frankfort, MI, it was launched on January 2, 1925, making her maiden voyage on February 2 as Ann Arbor No. 7. It was the third of six rail Car Ferries built to the same general class and dimensions: 347'-9" long x 56’-2" beam x 19’-2" draft; 2,934 Gross RT, 1,426 Net RT; capacity 30 rail cars. Powered by two triple expansion steam engines at an Indicator HP of 2,700.
From <http://trainweb.org/annarbor/Rosters/ferries/CarFerry7.htm>
Her sister Car Ferries included the PERE MARQUETTE 21 & 22, built in 1924, the GRAND RAPIDS, built in 1926, the MADISON, built in 1927, and the City of Milwaukee (which would be chartered by the DT&I Railroad, who'd bought out Ann Arbor, in 1978 near the end of the Great Lakes Car Ferry era), which was built in 1931.
From <http://www.carferries.com/AA/No7/>
Above, Ann Arbor No. 7 steams out of Frankfort in the 1930's (Kenneth E. Smith collection). Below, she awaits a rail-yard switcher in the northwestern slip in Manitowoc, WI shortly after coming out. This slip was then used by the C&O rail car Ferries, and Ann Arbor loaded at a new slip at the right of the small peninsula (Glander studio, Manitowoc).
http://www.mhpress.com/GLCF.pdf>
On August 25, 1925, Ann Arbor No. 7 was in the shipyard to repair a bent rudder stock. Then on December 16, 1926, it was caught in heavy ice, and spent 41 hours making the usual 7 hour trip to Manistique, MI. On June 23, 1929, the Car Ferry took aboard 259 passengers at Kewaunee for a Lake Michigan excursion. The only time the Ferry ever had a full limit of passengers, occurred on August 4, 1935 when she ran an excursion from Frankfort, MI, around Manitou Isle, and back with 375 passengers aboard. Then on July 27, 1929, No. 7 sited the schooner Lucia A. Simpson in distress and towed her to Kewaunee.
On October 22, 1929, bound for Frankfort, MI, in the same storm that had sunk the Grand Trunk Ferry, SS Milwaukee (which did not have radio equipment), around 2:00 pm, along with all 52 crew members, somewhere off Milwaukee) [From <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Milwaukee>]. Grand Trunk soon replaced the SS Milwaukee with SS City of Milwaukee (see story below). At any rate, Ann Arbor No. 7 plowed into three, huge successive waves about an hour out of Manitowoc, WI. The first sea dropped the stem deep in a trough as the second wave broke in several windows on her forward cabin. The third sea knocked the ship off course against the helm, forcing the skipper to return to Manitowoc.
From <http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/historic/perspectives/Viking/default.htm>
Log Entry:
June, 1930 - "Shortly after leaving Menominee on June 13, 1930 fireman Walter O'Leary of the Ann Arbor No. 7 became ill. The Ann Arbor No. 7 proceeded at full speed to the nearest doctor at Sturgeon Bay. Doctor Huff took the patient ashore and performed surgery to remove gall stones. Mr. O'Leary was discharged from the hospital on July 13th." [Nowadays, Mr. O'Leary would only spend a couple days in the hospital, at the most. -DNJ]
August 19, 1930 - the Ferry towed the disabled tug GREILING from Frankfort to the Manitowoc, WI shipyards.
From <http://www.carferries.com/AA/No7/>
February 10, 1933 - the Ann Arbor No. 7 lost her starboard propeller in ice off Frankfort harbor. Her fleet mate, the Wabash (see below), attempted to tow it to the Manitowoc shipyard on February 12, but heavy seas broke the towline enroute, and Ann Arbor No. 7 was on her own with only one operable propeller. She drifted onto the beach north of Frankfort Harbor while wallowing heavily in slush, ice-covered swells. The Ann Arbor Wabash found the beached Ferry. Both ferries freed themselves after the winds and ice jams subsided on February 13th. While making her way back to the shipyard to replace her lost starboard propeller, Ann Arbor No. 7 struck a submerged object in the Manitowoc River, breaking three of the four blades on her port propeller, and cracking her port shaft. She was repaired promptly and was returned to service on February 18, 1933.
June 23, 1933 - Ann Arbor No. 7 rescued the lone survivor of a plane crash, a woman (Mrs. Charles Rennie, wife of the Vice President of Rennie Oil Co. of Traverse City, MI), in northern Lake Michigan. Then on March 21, 1934, Ann Arbor No. 7 stopped to break out the Steamer Stuart, which was ice bound at Sturgeon Bay. On September 19, 1937, the Ann Arbor No. 7 assisted the Coast Guard in the rescue of 15 men off the sinking lumber steamer C.E. REDFERN. After being held in the ice for 13 hours near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin on January 6, 1940, it was freed. On April 11, 1948 the Ann Arbor No. 7 ran aground on the sandy bottom south of Sturgeon Bay Canal. She was released with no apparent damage by two tugs on April 12th.
No. 7 at Manitowoc, WI 1938. (From the Bob Kalal collection)
From <http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/historic/perspectives/Viking/default.htm>
Log Entry:
January 11, 1949 - Trip 25. Boat 7 picked up the fish tug Number 37D522, which had broken down five miles outside Kewaunee, and towed her safely inside just before a big blow from the southward came along.
A Gyro Compass was installed on July 29, 1949.
From <http://www.carferries.com/AA/No7/>
Then in the winter of 1964-65, Ann Arbor No. 7 was sent to Lake Superior (only Car Ferry to go through the Soo Locks) where she was extensively rebuilt at Superior, Wisconsin at a cost of $2 million, by Fraser-Nelson Shipyards. Tonnage: 2713 gross - 1287 net; its length was extended to 360 feet; passenger capacity: 375, and 12 staterooms.
From <http://trainweb.org/annarbor/Rosters/ferries/CarFerry7.htm>
The original triple expansion steam engines were replaced with four diesel engines and electric drive. The upper deck was raised 3'-6" to handle taller rail cars. She was also equipped with a bow thruster, and was renamed M.V. Viking in 1965. NRT Sea trials were performed on April 22, 1965.
From <http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/historic/perspectives/Viking/default.htm>
From <http://www.carferries.com/AA/No7/>
Engine Type: diesel (4)
Cylinders & Stroke: 16 cylinders 8.5"x10"
Builder: General Motors 567DI EMD
Base HP: 7040
From <http://trainweb.org/annarbor/Rosters/ferries/CarFerry7.htm>
railpictures.net © David Hedlund
From <http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/historic/perspectives/Viking/default.htm>
"Viking's Mustache" At Manitowoc, WI February 9, 1968. (Photo by Dick Sheehy)
Entering Manitowoc, WI March 29, 1970. (Photo by Roger LeLievre)
From <http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/historic/perspectives/Viking/default.htm>
In April 1982, the Ann Arbor (really the DT&I Railroad at this point) Car Ferry service was terminated due to bankruptcy, ending the Viking’s career as a railroad Car Ferry. On May 16, 1983 she was towed by the Canonie Transport tug American Viking from Elberta, MI to Sturgeon Bay, WI after being purchased from the State of Michigan by Petersen Builders of Sturgeon Bay, WI. The vessel was used by Petersen as a storage warehouse. In March 1987 the Viking was considered a prime candidate for conversion to an auto and passenger ferry running between Muskegon, MI and Milwaukee, WI. Muskegon taxpayers rejected the ambitious plan during a vote for a $6.5 million financing referendum to fund part of the ship’s renovation and shore-based infrastructure.
From <http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/historic/perspectives/Viking/default.htm>
On November 29, 1993, the Ann Arbor Car Ferry Viking was towed from Sturgeon Bay to Kewaunee, MI and docked near the Arthur K. Atkinson. Both vessels had been sold to Constantinos Makrydakis of Athens, Greece.
Then on July 3, 1994, after being towed back to Sturgeon Bay, WI, the VIKING was in dry-dock undergoing a hull inspection and repairs.
From <http://www.carferries.com/AA/No7/>
In June 1996, the vessel sailed under her own power from Manitowoc, WI to Port Stanley, Ont. and was renamed Viking I. In November (some accounts have it October 17, 1996), according to a story in the Erie Daily Times, "Captain Gerry Matherne sailed the vessel in the middle of the night from Port Stanley, Ont. to Erie, PA on his own volition because of threats of violence made to him and at least one other crew member. Viking I was to be used for a ferry service between Port Stanley and Cleveland, OH, but the investor group behind the venture apparently underestimated the cost of renovating the 71-year old vessel. They fell behind on payments to previous owner Contessa Cruise Lines, for whom Matherne worked.
"It was apparently under the pretense of repossessing the vessel that Matherne took command and sailed her from Port Stanley, claiming that a telephone caller had threatened bodily harm to him if he tried to take back the ferry. Matherne had previously called Raymond Schreckengost, executive director of the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, to seek permission to berth the ferry there. Upon arriving in Erie, the U.S. Coast Guard cited Matherne and Contessa with numerous violations, including lack of radar and a gyrocompass, lack of a pilot licensed for the Great Lakes, and failure to notify the Coast Guard of Viking I's arrival in Erie."
From <http://www.carferries.com/AA/No7/>
From October 1996 to January 2003, while owned by Contessa Cruise Lines, the Viking I was in lay-up at Erie, PA. On July 29, 2001, the Erie Times-News reported that the Viking I might return to service. Inland Ocean Lines was interested in the Ferry, but its $110,000 offer fell far short of the $2 million that Contessa Cruise Lines was asking. However, on September 9, 2002, Contessa was notified that its lease for the berth in Erie for the Viking I was being terminated, and the October 31st deadline for moving the vessel was not met.
Then on December 15, the Erie Times-News reported that the Viking I had been sold to K&K Warehousing of Menominee, MI to be reduced to a barge. On January 14, 2003, it was towed out of Erie, PA by the tug Olive L. Moore, arriving in Menominee, MI on January 18, 2003. Currently the vessel is in Menominee, MI. (Vessel information provided by Art Chavez and Boatnerd News Archive)
From <http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/historic/perspectives/Viking/default.htm>
Fom <http://www.carferries.com/AA/No7/>
