Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Yes, Grand River Fairport Harbor can accommodate footers straight in or out. Don't believe the turnaround is large enough. In addition to the 1984 IH visit, a couple Interlake footers wintered there for two years in a row in the early-mid 90's.

Most aggregate unloading docks on the Great Lakes are not designed for a 1,000 footer. Workboat docks, bollard location, and depth alongside are all issues that would limit most of these docks to smaller vessels. When footers have carried aggregates in the past they have generally gone to more accessible docks such as the former Cobb dock in Muskegon and Carmeuse in Buffington Harbor. Ludington and Fairport Harbor are others that come to mind, and I believe footers have visited both in the past.

I don't think the current industry environment points toward more footers handling aggregates.

Holland cannot accommodate a footer and neither can many of the stone docks around the lakes. I recall an ASC footer dropped stone in Muskegon a few years ago but that was a one-off IIRC

Telescope magazine in their November/December 1984 issue had a story on the Indiana Harbor delivering 45,000 tons of limestone to the R. W. Sidley, Inc. dock in Fairport Harbor on May 20, 1984. https://images.maritimehistoryofthegrea ... 27641T.PDF

I do recall ASC thousand-footers delivering limestone to the Dow Chemical dock in Ludington, Michigan when it was still in operation.

After reading your post regarding footers being used to carry aggregates, I'm wondering if/how the cost of marine diesel as well as load/unload time might have a negative impact on that.
From observing the ships that deliver to the aggregate docks on the St. Clair River, most are in the 630' to 740' range. Can Greymont (Superior) accommodate footers? Wirt (Holland)? Just curious.

Take note to the slow start this season. Locks were opened early for demand yet only 6 passages in first week. The layoffs and the idling of mines due to high inventories and low demands. The BNSF dock laying off 31 dock workers does not seem like a bright forecast for moving cargo this year. Footers still at the wall mid April, Sykes (turbine repairs) and Joe Block (5 year completed and painted) early out of the gate in years past, just getting underway now. As the Fleets age and require more winter maintenance, decisions to sit at the wall seem to prevail. Look at the Clarke and Anderson not sailing this year. Will more footers begin to carry more aggregates? Seems likely as the profit margins are higher on the footers. Just clogs up Calcite for a bit filling up one footer vs 3 AAA's. Stay tuned folks, this is going to be interesting to watch!