Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Jon Paul wrote:

I loved the Supers and always thought with their dimensions that they would have been great River Class boats if converted to Self unloaders. They were handsome boats that carried good tonnage and we're gone from the lakes far to soon.[/quote]

Jon Paul, I thought the same as well about the supers. They and the Girdler triplets would've made a heck of a fleet!

[quoteIf you could please elaborate about your Seaway trips. Where did you load and was back hauling canadian ore part of the process.
][/quote]

Hauling the Canadian ore was the name of the game and the grain hauling was just a way of helping with the trip expenses. 1964 was a year when the US was not selling grain to Russia (don't remember why) But we would load at Cargill in Toledo, South Chicago, etc. and off load in Canada at a Cargill elevator in Canada and one time through the help of a conveyor belt system right into a Russian vessel! We used Pittsburg SS Mates with pilotage thru the Welland and across Lake Ontario and then Canadian pilots the rest of the way out to Escoumins . There was a Pilot from Montreal to Three Rivers then Three Rivers to Quebec City then one from Quebec City to Escoumins. Beautiful scenery. If we loaded grain the trip out to say Three rivers and unload the grain then on to Port Cartier and one more trip to Duluth - Gary the month was shot..

Sort of the toss-up. Was on the Clarke for 8 yrs., also made two Seaway trips while on her. Watson for 1 yr. Guess overall it would be the Clarke. Had my own room for 6 of those 8 yrs. Plus there was always something going on. If you weren't painting, doing maintenance, you were loading/unloading.

hayhugh3 wrote:Enders M. Voorhees during the 1964 season. Ten trips out the seaway five with grain. good feeder, crew and Captain. First year wheel'n.

I was waiting to see what your choice was among the Pittsburgh boats you sailed.
I loved the Supers and always thought with their dimensions that they would have been great River Class boats if converted to Self unloaders. They were handsome boats that carried good tonnage and we're gone from the lakes far to soon.
If you could please elaborate about your Seaway trips. Where did you load and was back hauling canadian ore part of the process.

Enders M. Voorhees during the 1964 season. Ten trips out the seaway five with grain. good feeder, crew and Captain. First year wheel'n.

Early seventies Str. JB Ford Had a great crew and easy ship to maintain and great runs.

Not a easy choice. Came down to the crew you worked with over the long run and also the trips and ports it made. Worse ships, JR. Sensibar, Elton Hoyt 2nd and St. Clair.
Best JL Mauthe, Detroit Edison, Charles M. Beeghly, Herbert C. Jackson.

My favorite ship was the first boat I worked on. In the summer of 2002 I signed on as a deckhand on the Burns Harbor. I had seen thousand footers before but it's another thing to go aboard one. I had my own room and head which was nice. We ran the Superior to Burns Harbor ore run exclusively so I had a lot of time to learn how to "steamboat". The relief captain on board most of the time I was on, was arguably one of the most liked on the lakes Captain Al Tielke. I really wanted to work on her again the next summer but as a relief, college kid I had to take whoever could get you out sailing the soonest and longest and that turned out to be GLF and the Roger Blough, not a bad 2nd ship.

They are all the same in my opinion nowadays each one has its good things and bad things it’s a job same as anything else only ur not home everyday

The best boat I sailed on was the Detroit Edison. I worked on her as a Wiper, in the engine room, from July 1979 to January 1980. She was a smooth riding quiet steam turbine with a rather spacious and clean engine room. I do not think anyone in the deck department appreciated the Edison as much as I did because of all her telescoping hatches.

I sailed the lakes in the early 60s and the thomas wilson in 64 when i met my life long friend we were deckhands then but i never thought my friend would be Captain Dick Metz someday.

My first ship was the Ashland of Oglebay Norton. I fitted it out in 1969 in Toledo. Hence, my username on this site. My favorite was the Texaco Brave, also during 1969. Though the ship was old in all respects, it had a really good crew and was a very solid and stable boat. One highlight of being on the Ashland was the "hurricane" we sailed through on Lake Superior while lightship and upbound for Silver Bay. We bumped and bounced around like a ping pong ball; but come the next morning, Lake Superior was as flat and calm as a tabletop! Another memorable experience on the Texaco Brave was mucking out five to ten tons of rust (the effects of carrying so much gasoline) from her cargo tanks during winter lay-up. I'll bet there was considerable steel renewal at each hull survey!

The Algosar ( Ex: Gemini)

The Algosar was a nice simple tanker, that had a nice clean deck, and was minimal to maintain. It was a "bearbones" kind of ship, with no real comforts of the newer tankers; however, the trade off was the ship's simplicity and easy to maintain deck.
Its regarded as the only tanker that was in the Algoma fleet that can lift the max cargo at the minimum draft, thereby setting it's trade in shallow water ports, which made for interesting and challenging stretches.

CLIFFS VICTORY -- I was second cook in 1969 & 1970, earning $$ for college. Victory was unique looking, fast and pretty smooth sailing. The galley was a good set up for work. I cooked breakfast for the crew while tending my baking as I had the ovens until about 10:00 am. We carried company guests most trips and I made a lot of OT. We ran Superior to Huron, OH many times and they were good docks and the walk up town in Huron was safe and easy. It was a long time ago, but my recollection of the weather was that it was nice most of the time.

I sailed vacation relief on 8 different Oglebay Norton vessels in all 3 departments. I liked decking on the Middletown, but my favorite is the Buckeye. Ironically I live in Buckeye, Arizona.
My least favorite was decking the Columbia Star(Omar) and the Reserve.

For all those that sailed the lakes, which boat that you sailed on was your favourite and why ?