transportation company type private company industry transportation founded 1826 ; 1 incorporated 1976 2 headquarters burlington vermont united states key people raymond c. pecor chairman ; trey pecor president ; 3 henry t. sorrell vice president ; dominique pecor treasurer ; heather stewart operations manager products ferry service sightseeing cruises website http www.ferries.com http lakechamplaincruises.com an lctc ferry on the burlington port kent route the lake champlain transportation company lctc or just lct provides car and passenger ferry service at three points on lake champlain in the united states . from 1976 to 2003 it was owned by burlington vermont businessman raymond c. pecor jr. 4 who is chairman of the company s board . 5 6 in 2003 he sold the company to his son raymond pecor iii . 7 lake champlain is the thirteenth largest lake in the united states reaching a maximum width of 12 miles 19 km and depths of more than 300 feet 91 m . as such there is no bridging of the broad lake north of crown point new york and south of the rouses point alburg swanton crossing near the canada border though bridging of the lake near plattsburgh has been proposed . 8 the ferry service allows convenient transport across the lake between new york and vermont . approximately one million passengers cross the lake by ferry each year . contents 1 service area 1.1 charlotte essex 1.2 burlington port kent 1.3 grand isle plattsburgh 1.4 crown point chimney point 2 the ferries used by the lctc 2.1 history 3 ice breaking on lake champlain 4 charitable donations 5 see also 6 references 7 external links service area edit service was originally provided at three points listed from south to north 9 charlotte vt to essex ny burlington vt to port kent ny grand isle vt to plattsburgh ny at cumberland head most runs employ at least two double ended diesel ferries making the crossings in opposite directions . all ferries are capable of carrying large trucks as well as cars bicycles and foot passengers and are of a roll on roll off design although they can operate single ended in the event of an engine failure . credit cards are not accepted on some routes . 10 under the terms of the maritime transportation security act vehicles and luggage brought on board some lct vessels may be subject to search . 11 most runs are considered quite scenic . 12 during the summer the company also provides dinner cruises and charters from burlington as well as special runs that allow the watching of the independence day fireworks display at the burlington waterfront . charlotte essex edit the charlotte essex ferry is run year round but may not operate if there is heavy icing on the lake . this became a year round route in 1998 and has operated year round all but two winters since . 13 this route abruptly shut down for six weeks in february 2009 when its ice breaking vessels were redeployed elsewhere . 14 according to the company website the plan for the winter of 2010 2011 is for this run to have single ferry service delivered alternately by the governor aiken and the adirondack . at present the company has no plans for use of an ice breaking ferry on the charlotte essex run in the winter of 2010 2011 ; this is anticipated to result in a winter closure . 15 16 17 this route is depended on by many commuters to get to medical appointments work and school . 18 19 20 until the 1920s when the champlain bridge was built this was the primary route for cross lake travel . 21 burlington port kent edit the burlington port kent ferry crosses the maximum width of the lake and does not operate in the winter . 22 this crossing takes approximately one hour . park and ride service is available on both ends . snack ice cream gift shop vending available . grand isle plattsburgh edit the grand isle plattsburgh ferry is an ice breaking route and provides 24 hour service year round . the crossing on this route takes approximately 12 minutes . in 2001 the company spoke out against a proposed plan to build a bridge that would replace this route . 23 crown point chimney point edit the vermont running at crown point . cranes for the construction of the new lake champlain bridge in the background november 2010 . in addition a temporary ferry operated by the company for free at the expense of the states of new york and vermont at a cost to the states of about 10 per car 24 temporarily operated from crown point new york to chimney point vermont . this 20 minute crossing operated 24 hours per day due to the removal of the champlain bridge due to structural problems and the construction of a new span . 25 26 with the opening of the new lake champlain bridge this ferry crossing was no longer needed so the service ended as of november 7 2011 . 27 the ferries used by the lctc edit plattsburgh cumberland and in the background eww ferries used by the lake champlain transportation company 28 including six vessels that can run in ice the adirondack the oldest in service double ended ferryboat of all time built 1913 29 named after the adirondack mountains the champlain built 1930 ; also doubles as a charter cruise boat for large groups under the brand lake champlain cruises the evans wadhams wolcott built 1988 to run in ice ; the eww pronounced e double u double u and named after lewis p. evans jr. richard h. wadhams and james g. wolcott the founders of the modern company the governor george d. aiken built 1975 ; named after the former governor of vermont and u.s. senator the grand isle built 1953 ; was overhauled in the 1995 and extended by 40 feet ; this vessel now runs in ice ; 30 31 named after the vermont town but running on the charlotte essex crossing the northern lights built 2002 to resemble the steamer ticonderoga ; used for public scenic and charter cruises under the brand lake champlain cruises . 32 the plattsburgh built 1984 to run in the ice ; named after plattsburgh new york the valcour built 1947 from wwii surplus ; named after valcour island site of a military battle ; this vessel was the last ferry to be built on lake champlain and was constructed at the historic shelburne shipyard the vermont built 1992 to run in ice the cumberland built 2000 to run in ice ; named for cumberland head the specific location of the plattsburgh ferry slip the raymond c. pecor jr. built 2010 named for raymond pecor who ran the company from 1976 to 2004 father of trey pecor aka raymond pecor iii the company s current president . 33 34 raymond pecor is also the owner of the vermont lake monsters a minor league baseball team headquartered in burlington . american recovery and reinvestment act of 2009 grants totalling approximately 600 000 were used under the national clean diesel funding assistance program to reduce emissions by the ferries . 35 history edit from about 1820 to 1850 approximately five horse ferry crossings operated on lake champlain . 36 the burlington bay horse ferry shipwreck discovered in 1983 in lake champlain is an example of a turntable team boat . 37 38 horse powered ferries like the one sunk in the bay of burlington vermont had reached their heyday in the 1830 s and 40 s. eventually in the 1850 s the steam boat took over and the days of horse powered ferries quickly came to an end . 39 a brief history of the vessels owned by the lake champlain transportation co. from 1948 2010 is available online . ice breaking on lake champlain edit eww sitting in the grand isle slip during ice breaking season eww moving west through the icy channel towards plattsburgh cumberland headed east to grand isle during the winter lake champlain sometimes ices over making ferry service on the long burlington port kent route impractical . the grand isle cumberland head route is short enough to maintain an open channel and the distance to the rouses point bridge makes it practical for substantial motor traffic to use the ferry justifying the difficulty of keeping the ferry service operating . the ferries used on this run are of the ice breaking type ; their hulls and propellers are reinforced to allow the boats to operate through thin or broken ice . by operating continuously the ferries maintain an open channel throughout the winter ice season . in the past the ferries did not operate around the clock but in winter time a few runs were made through the night to prevent the ice from freezing solidly . now scheduled runs continue throughout the night . charitable donations edit lake champlain transportation is the largest contributor to the pecor family foundation contributing over 250 000 in the tax years 2006 2008 . the foundation makes large contributions to such charities as the american cancer society and united way and to educational institutions such as the university of vermont and champlain college . 40 see also edit list of icebreakers maritime transportation security act references edit two centuries of tradition lct website . corporation information vermont secretary of state . uncommon carrier trey pecor had big shoes to fill and it looks like a perfect fit by julia lynam business people vermont 2004 . university of vermont honorary degree recipients raymond c. pecor jr. businessweek executive profile raymond c. pecor jr. forbes profile raymond c. pecor new ferry named for shelburne resident shelburne news tue nov 9th 2010 . span gets schumer s attention by joe lotemplio plattsburgh press republican april 10 2001 . what s doing in ; lake champlain by judith yarnall the new york times june 2 2002 . lake champlain ferries a review from frommers the new york times . random ferry searches constitutional 2nd circuit rules allbusiness.com december 18 2006 . describes a civil rights suit in which lct was a defendant . what s doing around lake champlain by marialisa calta the new york times september 20 1989 . the job that comes and goes in the pilothouse with lake champlain s ferry captains by tom gresham adirondack life july august 2007 . residents lobby for essex ferry this winter by lohr mckinstry press republican november 10 2010 . the company had an icebreaker ferry at essex but moved it to the crown point addison vt. run when temporary ferry service began there in january . that ferry is running free paid for by the states until a new bridge is built at crown point . because that run had no icebreaker the essex ferry stopped for about two months last winter because of conditions between essex and charlotte vt. critics say ferry closure would cause ordeal in champlain valley by brian mann north country public radio november 11 2010 . essex neighbors fear ice will close ferry commuters say ferry service needs a solution wptx october 22 2010 . winter ferry closures worry essex n.y. charlotte riders by matt sudkoski burlington free press october 25 2010 . stewart said she can t predict if or for how long the ferry between charlotte and essex might close this winter due to ice . commuters fight for year round ferry wcax november 10 2010 . now officials from lct were invited to attend a public meeting on the issue at the essex n.y. firehouse wednesday night but they did not show up . that meeting was standing room only as elected officials from both sides of the lake listened to the concerns of commuters . as for the state stepping in to help commuters state transportation officials told wcax