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For as long as I can remember Fraser shipyards always only has one ship in the drydock for winter layup/repairs. They don’t ever pull the ship out of drydock until it’s ready to sail. They don’t have the room to maneuver ships in and out of the drydock like sturgeon bay does. The little Bay Area that the ships come into fraser shipyards freezes with thick ice and usually the tugs come in to break the ice up when the ships are ready to sail. I don’t know the reason why the Duluth/superior area doesn’t get as many ships for layup like we used to. Seems like there are a lot more ships laying up in Toledo the last few years so that’s probably why the head of the lakes doesn’t see as many ships laying up here,I don’t think it’s due to poor workmanship.

[quote=Shipwatcher1 post_id=252430 time=1678649546 user_id=1554]
Is it just me, or does Fraser seem to take a lot longer with dry dock work than they used to? Seems like the last few winters, they have 1 boat use it and it is for the entire lay up season.
[/quote]

If there are no other boats scheduled for drydocking during the winter layup period, why would there be a rush to move whatever boat is being worked on out of the drydock? It seems it would be easier to let the boat remain in the drydock until it is ready to sail or at least let the spring thaw help in removing some of the harbor ice break up before having to move it out to another dock just to vacate the drydock.

One of the biggest problems with the Fraser yard since the early 1970s is the inability to drydock any of the 1000-foot vessels, this limits what vessels it can serve not only during the winter layup but also in the event of an accident. If I recall correctly, the Lewis Wilson Foy sustained heavy hull damage s at Taconite Harbor back in1982 and was towed to the Twin Ports for a survey before proceeding on one engine to Sturgeon Bay for drydocking as there is no drydock on Lake Superior that can handle a vessel of this size. I believe that Fraser made some modifications to allow 1000-foot vessels to enter the yard, but there is still no drydocking capacity for such ships although I thought there was talk at one time of enlarging the existing drydock of the construction of a new one to do so.

Thank you on correcting the date of completion tp 2020.
I must comment the Mary Ann was to be completed that spring that Covid hit in March. It is a very nice ferry.

dosnt fraser have a contract to build a car ferry for christian island in georgian bay

isnt frasers building a ferry for an indian tribe on christian island in georgian bay? when is it scheduled to be ready? can it be craned into the water or has to be erected in the drydock.

Regarding the Mary Ann for Miller boat line, I believe you mean 2020, not 2010. To be fair covid was a huge setback for Frazer. They were off to a great start on the new ferry build. Covid created supply issues and Frazer ran into design flaws in the original plans. Bay ship was able to review and fix the drive line issues. Miller is suing the design co.Thats all I can say in public.

It took Frasier over three years to build a new Miller Boat Line ferry boat that should had been completed the Spring of 2010. After design modifications at Bay Ship last winter. Ferry delivered this past August. Does that tell you something? That being said, the shipping industry needs a repair yard at the head of the lakes.

I also wonder how Fraser stays in business....I think there are only 3 boats in Duluth/Superior this winter...American Mariner and Lee A Tregurtha at Fraser and American Spirit at a grain elevator....Duluth is not the port it once was.

Is it just me, or does Fraser seem to take a lot longer with dry dock work than they used to? Seems like the last few winters, they have 1 boat use it and it is for the entire lay up season.

SHE WILL BE DONE IN THE DRYDOCK IN A WEEK OR SO.

[quote=Gortado post_id=252357 time=1678213297]
When will the Mariner exit drydock? Is there a date or is it unknown?
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3/23

When will the Mariner exit drydock? Is there a date or is it unknown?

There is a drawing called the Docking Plan which shows the location of longitudinal stiffeners and transverse web frames. When a ship is set on the blocks in dry dock the shipyard uses this drawing to place the blocks prior to flooding the dock and bringing in the ship. During normal docking surveys, the blocks are spotted in different locations than previous dockings so coatings can be applied in the areas that were previously obscured by blocks. Divers are often used to spot the ship as it enters the dock. Blocks are usually set within one working day - the bow and stern areas take a bit more time due to curvature of the hull, but the midbody section is repetitive - same spacing on X and Y axis.

During damage repairs, the location of plates and frames that are set in and will be cropped and renewed are identified on the docking plan and blocks are avoided in these areas. If the damaged area is large, blocks will be placed in damaged areas for support, then repositioned out of the way as repairs progress. Often the construction plans will state the number of blocks to be placed in a specified area of the hull. Example, the machinery spaces require additional blocks due to weight of the engine and machinery, possible fuel in bunker tanks, etc.

When they are replacing bottom plates on the American Mariner due to damage how do they know where to set the blocks that the ship rests on so it doesn’t interfere with the damaged area? Also how big are the plates that they use to repair the ship and how do they get them maneuvered into place to weld them. There isn’t a lot of room under the ship I would assume can a person stand up straight?