Boatnerd Discussion Forum

badger wrote: April 10, 2026, 8:59 pm They were never laid up in sarnia, it was point edward. Exmouth street divides point edward from sarnia.

That's kind of splitting hairs to most folk. That's like trying to differentiate between Port Huron and Fort Gratiot.

Well the first point is that the companies that own the boats typically don't share the books with the public. Remember that there is still some competition with contracts and trying to find the best price comes first.

Second point is that prices per ton is constantly changing. A price that is X ...

Old Mackinaw needed to be retired 15 years before she finally did. We shouldn’t have to rely on a 85 year old ship anyways.

I honestly don't see the urgency to get icebreakers in the lakes when you can navigate through the better part of January before the lakes freeze up. There isn't that many ...

Boyer was a product of his time so there's lots of romantic writing and SOME artistic license taken in a few areas such as what was going on onboard a ship lost with all hands or his ability to put first names to people who other historians have not had the same luck dealing with just a initial and ...

Well there goes any hope for the return of the Valor.

Thank you, do you have sources for good histories for M.A. Hanna?

Please reach out to me at Jdaniel0425ATyahooDOTcom. I'd like to swap some info with you.

I finally heard back from my friend on the south shore. The tug was not lost according to him, it was thrown up on a bank and it was not the Seaway Maid. It was local outfit with a numbered (not named) towboat. Everything was recovered as far as he was aware.

Im trying to track down sources for the history of the Virginia Steamship Co which was a subsidiary of the M.A. Hanna Co. I'm working on the history of the Isaac M Scott and there does not seem to be a lot of information floating around. Thanks in advance for any replies.

Not to cast any doubts in the missing tug's identity, but according to Merchant Vessels of the United States data, the Seaway Maid has had its certificate of documentation renewed in both 2024 and 2025. (I didn't look at any additional years.) Which hints that it might have been a different vessel ...

I have dug into this, and I think the tug is still lost. It could be the tiny 25 foot pusher called the Seaway Maid registered out of Clayton NY. It was doing work in the Conneaut River in that time span so I assume this is the tug that was lost. I can't post a picture for some reason.

On the Canadian side the Atlantic Huron is done at the end of this year.


Just saw that the Atlantic Huron is due to go on social media. Will head to Nova Scotia for scrapping after a load from Hamilton to Quebec City set to happen this week. She is one of only a few Collingwood built vessels ...

Flying Dutchman like? No such thing, but the sidewheeler Alpena has not been found and there are some ghost stories about sightings after sinking.

Missing still is the W.H. Gilcher, Andaste, Lac La Belle, Java, Brunswick, and Frank L Vance.

Well with the announcements of closures of the steel plants and coal docks, what ships do you think will be done and scrapped?

I think we will see the Blough, Calloway, and Anderson go from GLC.

Algoma will probably scrap the Valor, Leitch, and Compass will go.

Rand will probably give up the ...

Congratulations Brian as that is certainly great news to hear! Glad you were able to get the hardcover edition and an added bonus as well with it being signed by Fred Stonehouse himself. I just put in and sent my family this week my Christmas list and I too included Stonehouse’s 50th Anniversary ...

I watched two programs last week regarding the Fitzgerald; one aired by WDIV Ch 4 out of Detroit and another from PBS ch 56 out of Detroit. One of them mentioned that Captain McSorely would get a yearly bonus by never stopping for storms and getting loads to the receiver without delays. My ...

That image would perfectly described the Henry B Smith departing Marquette on Nov 9th 1913.

I know it had a steam powered winch that automatically adjusted tension on the tow line. Maybe it was in the bow?

Would they have used steam to keep its cargo of fuel oil less viscous? Tall stack to prevent sparks from igniting cargo vapors?


As Mr. Lafferty said, the boiler was up in the bow ...

Any speculation on the bottom paint? We are thinking red.

Thank you for the answers.

I think the sinking, raising, and refurbishing of the George Humphrey in 1945-46 is a amazing story. She spent two years on the bottom in deep water.

The stern half of the William C Moreland being raised and returned to service while it's bow remains sunk off Sawtooth Reef is another example. The ...

Everything in blue on a chart is listed in feet. White can be fathoms or feet depending on the scale.