Boatnerd Discussion Forum

The ports you mention, along with many others in Michigan and Wisconsin, once saw a lot of service by small self-unloaders that loaded or unloaded coal, sand and stone. On the upper lakes, self-unloaders once were rare because any upbound cargoes (usually coal) were carried on straight-deckers that were then turned around to haul grain or iron ore downbound. So I think you're supposition is correct -- for the people living in those small ports there was a distinct difference in the lower-lakers, which they saw often, and the upper-lakers that just made the straight runs from Lake Superior down to the steel mills.

In days gone by,before the seaway was open in 1959.The ships that could only trade as far as Kingston Ont. were referred to as Upper lakers. The smaller canal sized vessels of 259 ft that could trade the old St.Lawrence river were referred to Lower Lakers. Most Canadian fleets has 2 or 3 lower Lakers to every upper laker. Typically grain was hauled from Fort William/Port Arthur in an larger Upper Lakers to Kingston,unloaded at the elevator and then reloaded into the smaller lower Lakers for delivery to St.Lawrence ports.At least this is the Canadian version

Does anyone know why people from West Michigan seem to refer to all ships as "Lower Lakers". I heard this used primarily in Traverse City, Ludington, and Manistee, but also as far south as Muskegon and Grand Haven. I'd tell people I worked on the ships in college and they say "yeah the lower lakers?" and I say well we went to all the Lakes. Is this just regional slag or a carry over from all the sand docks that used to be on the West side that the smaller boats that didn't venture North often serviced?