Shepler's Steve Socolovitch degreases boat trailers and performs other tasks until the ferries are moved into this maintenance shed in January. It's winter hibernation time for the big Mackinac Island ferries.

Most of the boats of Shepler's and Arnold Line are in drydock, sitting on stands in St. Ignace and Mackinaw City, where between now and spring they'll be polished and painted, their propellers made trim, their big engines serviced.

"The ones that might give us problems in the summertime are repaired right here," said Bob Darrow, manager of Shepler Marine.

"We don't generally pull boats out of the water for maintenance in the summer, so we do that now," said Michael North, newly named general manager of Star Line, whose five ferries are differentiated from competitors' by a rooster tail plume.

At Shepler's, five ferries from 30 to 83 feet, weighing 30 to 65 tons, are in drydock now, while the maintenance crew services boat trailers, yachts, and other privately-owned big boats. But come January, the ferries will be gone over meticulously in Shepler's large maintenance shed for anything that isn't right.

Manager Bob Darrow of Shepler Marine Maintenance can keep ferries running for decades. The ages of Shepler's boats range from 21 to 40 years.

The process starts with propellers, two on each boat, with separate driveshafts each linked to diesels. They are removed, inspected for irregularities, and sent out for repair, if necessary.

Next come engines, which are 1,000 to 1,500 horsepower. Some need minor tune-ups, while others need rebuilding. Hull repainting is done when necessary, as is carpet maintenance.

None of this happens until January when work on private boats ends. Meanwhile, workers like Steve Socolovitch are busily doing such other things as degreasing boat trailers and maintaining wheels.

Star Line keeps its boats in the water year-around, in St. Ignace and Cheboygan, then hauls them to Arnold's facilities and performs such maintenance as washing, propeller inspection, painting, and engine repair.

Arnold Line's Bob Brown oversees the line's three catamarans, five single-hull ferries, and two flatbed barges used for hauling freight. The Huron, with its steel hull, is the only ferry running now, and will make four trips daily until at least the new year.

A Shepler ferry in drydock in Mackinaw City. In January, it will be moved to a maintenance shed for needed repairs. "It's our wintertime boat," Mr. Brown said. "It's got heat and some icebreaking capability."

Maintenance is vital to the 35-miles-per-hour, twin-hull catamarans.

"If you've got just a nick in a propeller, you've got to change it," said Mr. Brown. "In the old days, we'd have to take it up to the Soo and wait a week to get on their drydock, and now we can pull the boat out that afternoon and have it back in the water that night."