ONAWAY— Two commercial catamarans will set sail on Lake Superior along Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore this summer.

Fabricator Moran Iron Works, headquartered in Onaway, built the dual vessels for Pictured Rocks Kayaking to be used for sightseeing and kayak tours. Both the Pictured Rocks Paddler and Great Lakes Paddler vessels are 50-foot, aluminum hull catamarans, equipped with Yamaha 425-horsepower outboard engines, each holding a capacity of 48 people. They feature a slip launch platform, simplifying the process to load and unload kayaks during tours.

“It’s great to work with a company like Pictured Rocks Kayaking that wants to make the overall experience for their customers a smooth, enjoyable one,” said Lee Fayssoux, sales manager for Moran Iron Works. “From initial drawings to sea trials and delivery, we are driven by the customer’s end goal for the project.”

These are not the first vessels designed on behalf of the excursion company. In 2020, Moran Iron Works built one boat hull of this type, Lt. Dan, which the catamaran design has proven itself to be the superior launch and retrieval platform. Stability on moderate seas has been observed during Lt. Dan’s maiden season of 2021.

It is expected that these two sister ships will provide the same comfort and reliability to the Picture Rocks Kayaking experience.

In early May 2022, Pictured Rocks Paddler successfully passed sea trials and was delivered to Munising for deployment use. Pictured Rocks Kayaking owner John Madigan looks forward to receiving the second vessel soon.

“It is a pleasure to work with Tom and his team. They delivered a complicated project on time, on budget, with top quality workmanship,” said Madigan.

Kayak and boat tours of Pictured Rocks are available beginning May 27 out of Munising.