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gift shops to his growing enterprise: Elizabeth's (named and run by his wife) and
Ragamuffins (also run by his wife and his daughters), and he was looking to find a replacement for his current ferry. Despite his efforts, Kilpela could not find a new vessel worthy of the crossing, so he hired naval architect Timothy Graul to design a lengthening of his current ship. The Vinette Boat Company, which had built the original vessel, added 24 feet and a stern cabin to the
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from 1971-1988. As the Island itself began to undergo changes (1976: the land was designated a
National Wilderness Preservation System; 98% of the Island must remain wilderness—1981: the land is designated as an International Biosphere Reserve), Kilpela's business began to increase. He soon added two
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a specially designed, staunch, graceful, open-water long-voyage, heavy weather ferry ... with a gracefully raked stem, streamline, contour, elliptical after-splay; tumble-home transom; rounded forefoot; slightly flared, raised bow; straight sides; v-bow merging into semi-modest v-bottom to midship,
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wasn't really a suitable ferry boat. It was a converted fishing vessel, 35 feet in length, with several portholes and a wooden hull. And the trips to the island were immensely long, usually taking over six hours. Many times Kauppi would recruit a passenger (usually a woman) to take the helm when he
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up from Gay forty miles into the harbor. The former commercial fisherman began to run charters from the harbor to the island for campers, hikers, fishermen, and resort-goers. This move was extremely risky, as the harbor was forty miles from the closest town, and the road connecting the two was not
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could handle rough seas much more easily with her longer hull. The names that had been bestowed on the earlier ship, such as the "Barf Barge", "Chuck Wagon", etc. were transferred over (the new ship still couldn't handle high seas very well), but were used much more sparingly. The
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Ward, along with his sons, ran this new boat from 1955 to 1971, when Ward retired. He then sold his enterprise to Donald
Kilpela Sr., then residing in Livonia, Michigan, outside of Detroit. Kilpela soon moved to Copper Harbor to resume his new ferry service.
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could have been put out of service. The vessel did not possess watertight compartments that lay below that waterline, and the Coast Guard did not certify the ship to carry people on a regular schedule. Unfazed, Kauppi simply continued running his
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But Kauppi was determined to run something other than a charter. He wanted to expand towards a scheduled and published ferry service. This goal was reached in 1938 when he commissioned the
Wiinikka Boat Works of Houghton to build the
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could make it to Isle Royale in about four hours, which nearly cut travel time in half. She possessed three Gray Marine engines (later replaced with twin diesel engines), could carry 57 people, and could carry
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When Isle Royale became a national park in 1940, Kauppi began to operate both boats, with the help of his son
Willard (known as "Sully"), to the island. But when Charles died in 1955, his family sold the
323:. At 100 feet long, 20 feet wide, with spacious cabin space, she could make the crossing in just over three hours. Donald Kilpela Sr. retired from captaining duties several years before he purchased the
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and its business to one Ward
Grosnik of Copper Harbor. Grosnik quickly expanded on the current operation, and set up a contract with the T. D. Vinette Boat Company of Escanaba, Michigan to build the
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130:, he realized that it had turned cramped and out-of-fashion. He decided to build a vessel suitable for passengers, and soon contacted a local shipbuilder to build his 48-foot (15 m)
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319:, which was then docked in Cape Canaveral. Kilpela and his three sons sailed the ship up three rivers, into Lake Michigan, and finally, to Copper Harbor, where it was renamed the
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But Kauppi seemed not to be a normal man. He was a risk-taker, very brave (several seamen have said that Kauppi is the bravest captain ever to have sailed on
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brewed coffee on the long voyage over. In about 1935, Kauppi realized that he needed something better, now that the publicity surrounding president
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would also make stops at Tobin Harbor and Belle Isle, where there were also lodges and campgrounds. Kauppi would occasionally sail to
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Ferry service to the island began around ten years before it became a national park, with the
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However, when the Coast Guard began to impose tighter ferry boat construction standards, the
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Kilpela, Donald Sr. (May 2008). "The Copper Harbor to Isle Royale Ferry
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to the Grand
Portage-Isle Royale Transportation Service, where it was renamed the
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lasted until 2004, when
Kilpela decided to replace, yet again, his older vessel.
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tons of extra gear. Captain F. Manzzutti, a marine surveyor who surveyed the
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paved at the time. Also, he began his new enterprise at the beginning of the
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and Isle Royale, operating six vessels since 1930 under different owners:
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After nearly two years of searching, Kilpela found his new ship: the
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and return the next morning. As well as stopping at Rock Harbor, the
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service to the island, as he had done with his previous boat.
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thence to a near-flat bottom to the reinforced transom area.
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484:1930 establishments in Michigan
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439:The Isle Royale Ferry Service
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321:Isle Royale Queen IV
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367:The Superior Signal
337:Ferries in Michigan
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54:Isle Royale Queen.
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122:: 1936-1955
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310:Queen III
331:See also
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59:History
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