Freeport Building For Chicago Company

Jim Murray of Freeport Shipbuilding will be delivering several more of his popular passenger vessels for the coming season. One, Chicago's Little Lady, will be delivered from the Florida yard along the intercoastal waterway and up through the Mississippi and Illinois River systems to Chicago for owners Bob and Holly Agra. Designed by Timothy Graul Marine Design of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., the 68 x 23-ft. steel-hulled vessel is of single-chine form with a plumb stem and round (almost a fantail) stern. She was intended to have a family resemblance to her big sister, 225-passenger Chicago's First Lady, but is an original design in her own right. She is equipped to handle parties of up to 149, and has sufficient fuel (1,000 gallons), water (500 gallons), refreshment and waste holding tankage to sustain operations for several days between servicing. Propulsion will be provided by a pair of six-cylinder turbo-charged and after-cooled Cummins 6CTA 8.3 M3 diesels driving through Twin Disc MG507-1 marine gears with a 2.54:1 ratio turning 32 x 22-in., four-blade propellers. Electrical power on the new vessel will be furnished by a pair of four-cylinder Cummins 4B3.9MG 30kW gen sets. Tim Graul reports, "A great deal of care was expended in making her interior attractive, warm and accessible. To that end, the main deck complies with ADA recommendations. The varnished mahogany, brass and velvet appointments will allow passengers to relive earlier days when an outing on Lake Michigan was a special event. But modern touches, like air conditioning, will keep passengers comfortable during those steamy Chicago summers. When the weather is pleasant, up to 100 can ride on the open upper deck." Cruises will not be restricted to Lake Michigan, as Chicago's Little Lady has a low 17 ft. air draft, allowing her to slip under the many bridges which cross the Chicago River as it meanders through The Loop. This will allow her to support the company's well established Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise program. These 90-minute, docent-led cruises highlight 53 structures and locations along the city's riverfront. The stack just aft of the pilothouse hides PFD's, and the classic looking pilothouse with its wood trim and arched windows is built of welded aluminum.