Beaver Island Boat Company

Ride the Boat!

Beaver Island...
shamrock
America's Emerald Isle
Home Ferry Schedules

Schedule

 

4/17/24

UPDATE: We are still on hold for the start of our 2024 season. Last night the Emerald Isle had a test run out on Lake Michigan. During the test run the transmission and engines performed well and we had the green light to begin running. Today, while we were prepping the Emerald Isle to head back to Beaver Island more issues arose with the chockfast. These issues have caused us to have to continue the delay for the start of our season. I know this has been extremely frustrating and inconvenient for so many of our customers and we are truly sorry this is happening. We have been doing everything in our power to get the Emerald Isle running for the season; working day and night and it seems just when we think we are ready, we hit another road block. Our customers have been extremely patient with us and we are so thankful to have such an understanding community. Thank you for all the continued support and kind comments. We will continue to update everyone with new developments.

 

4/15/24

Update: The transmissions have been realigned. The alignment vendor and crew members worked through the weekend to sort out the issue. We now have to wait for the Chockfast to cure before connecting the transmission and engine together. Chockfast is a grouting epoxy that holds large machinery in place. With water temperatures cold it keeps the hull steel pretty cool and it takes approximately two days to cure. If we rush this process and don’t allow it to cure completely, we would have to start over. It is a bit like watching paint dry so we continue to prep and clean and recheck everything else. When the Chockfast is fully cured, we can torque the fittings to the correct specifications and test run the newly rebuilt engines and transmissions together for the first time. When this occurs, I will share the outcome of the first test runs with you.
 
Thank you again for your patience.
 
Tim

4/12/2024

Dear Friends and Valued Customers,
 
If my first post was difficult for me to post, this one is harder. Our staff and vendors have worked so hard for many long hours and we are down to the final stretch. Both engines have run and are running well. They have not run while connected to the transmissions. They still need to be tested under a load in the lake. We had planned to do test runs tomorrow afternoon, but that has had to be pushed back. When you rebuild engines and transmissions and disconnect them from the shafts, they all have to be realigned within very tight tolerances. Unfortunately, when everything was put all back together, we are just outside of those tolerances and it is not worth risking a mechanical failure later down the line. We operated the last week under the plan to run on Monday the 15th, so I made a call to proceed in that direction and to reschedule all missed reservation. Everything had to go right and unfortunately it did not. The alignment vendor will continue to work thru the weekend to get things correct.
 
The Beaver Islander is already in Escanaba on the drydock and repairs have already started.
 
Until we have completed our test run, I cannot make any additional predictions on our start date. You can have non-perishable freight dropped off that is already scheduled and we will store it if needed. Vehicles scheduled to go to the Island can be parked in our lot and we can Valet them down when we are running. Just check in at our office.
Once again, this was a ton of work in a very short window. I understand your frustration, concern, anger and disappointment. We have had a great track record over the last 20 years even added departures during the challenging times of COVID. I hope that our track record is good enough that you can grant us just a bit more patience as we work thru these last hurdles.
 
Tim McQueer
President
Beaver Island Boat Company

 

To stay up to date on boat cancellations, delays, and schedule changes, sign up for text alerts by texting “BIBCO” to 844-661-0033.

All departures are the Vessel Emerald Isle, with occasional departures for the Vessel Beaver Islander. The Emerald Isle is wheelchair accessible, see about the Emerald Isle Vehicle Restrictions.  Don’t forget to check out our Vehicle Reservation Requirements and Policy for those who are bringing a vehicle.

All trips are M/V Emerald Isle unless otherwise denoted. 

Rates, schedule, and specific vessel are subject to change without notice. All trips are weather permitting.

2024

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Departures

Departing Charlevoix Comments Departing Beaver Island

12:00 PM

 ONE TRIP

8:20 AM

2:30 PM

 ONE TRIP
*May 19th Additional 5:20 PM departure from Beaver Island

11:20 AM

11:30 AM

5:30 PM

 TWO TRIPS

8:20 AM

2:20 PM

8:30 AM

 ONE TRIP

11:20 AM

8:30 AM

 ONE TRIP

5:20 PM

8:30 AM

2:30 PM

 TWO TRIPS
*June 3rd Beaver Islander will depart 11:20 AM - June 6th 8:30 AM

*September 3rd NO 5:20 PM departure from Beaver Island

11:20 AM

5:20 PM

8:30 AM

2:30 PM

*5:30 PM

 THREE TRIPS

11:20 AM

*2:20 PM

5:20 PM

8:30 AM

*11:30 AM

2:30 PM

*5:30 PM

 FOUR TRIPS
*July 13th Beaver Islander will depart from Beaver Island at 8:00 AM

*8:20 AM

11:20 AM

*2:20 PM

5:20 PM

 

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