Boatnerd Discussion Forum

No bumboat operating in Duluth Superior at this time.

Syd bc wrote:Do they still have the Bum boats in Toledo and Superior/Duluth They were great for picking up stuff Use to get shirts and cover alls cheap They were used from the auto plants

Bum boats are long gone.

what i liked best from the bumboat was BEER!!

Do they still have the Bum boats in Toledo and Superior/Duluth They were great for picking up stuff Use to get shirts and cover alls cheap They were used from the auto plants

You would send to the Soo post office, 161 Ridge St, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 and mark it MARINE POST OFFICE. One of the clerks puts all the mail for the locks in a tub and takes it over every day.

Is there a street address for the Marine Post Office? My local post office will not accept without one and google isnt helping! TIA

PERSON'S NAME
NAME OF VESSEL
MARINE POST OFFICE
SAULT STE MARIE, MI 49783

How do you properly address a care package for delivery at the Soo? I would ask directly but it’s a surprise birthday box.

Guest wrote:Is smoking allowed on board?

On the ocean going ships I see in the Panama canal there is almost always NO SMOKING in huge letters on the side of the superstructure/pilot house/crew quarters part of the ship.

That sign just applies to the outside deck area. Mainly tankers have the big sign. People still smoke inside. On one small ocean-going tanker only two of us did not smoke.

United Seaman's Service has, in the past, delivered shoebox care packages to my ship during the Holidays. They contained, gum, candy, socks, gloves, pens, pencils, playing cards, note pads, all of which we could have attained ourselves. These packages were put together by children in the spirit of giving and were so greatly appreciated and so warmly received.

Smoking is allowed, though becoming less common as time goes by.

Is smoking allowed on board?

On the ocean going ships I see in the Panama canal there is almost always NO SMOKING in huge letters on the side of the superstructure/pilot house/crew quarters part of the ship.

Many fleets have 0 tolerance policy for alcohol on board.

Beer and cigarettes?
Or not allowed?

Yeah there is nothing really I can think of that would not be easily accessible on the vessels I have been on.

It used to be batteries for MP3 players/cameras and all that but with the Lith-Ion and recharging that's changed. Calling cards also used to be big. Food wise all the junk that can be had is usually had. I sure some gourmet jerky, or nuts would go over. My parents would always send a few bags of St. Lawrence Bros nuts from Bay City to the MPO at the Soo. Most of the freighters I worked on didn't have pop, usually someone would sell it. I felt bad on the Burns Harbor we had an A.B. from Trinidad who was a vegetarian that had to scrounge for veg snacks. Maybe some Net Flicks cards? Game Stop cards? It's changed so much with WiFi and Cell Phones even since I last sailed in 2004.

That's very thoughtful! We're usually pretty good on everything. If we don't have something we can usually run ashore and get it. But I do know a certain fleet that has black hulled ships and a bunch of thousand footers that has terrible cereal selection and no healthy snacks!

Sailors of the boatnerd forums, what items would you enjoy that could be sent out in a care package that may not be provided by the company or normally stocked onboard?