American Fortitude

[Guest]

So did she leave with the Fortitude? AIS shows her off Lorain Ohio.

With a speed of 4.7 knots you'd think she had a tow.

[Guest]

So did she leave with the Fortitude? AIS shows her off Lorain Ohio.

[Wheelsman]

I don't know that a trip to a shipyard would be necessary to remove the boom. Someone correct if I'm wrong, but I recall the Nicolet at Hans Hansen in Toledo had her boom removed and stored in pieces ashore before she was towed away for scrapping sometime around '96. It was there for years after. Hansen is/was more of a repair facility with no drydock. I believe a mobile crane was brought in for the job.

[Guest]

What I had heard was that the crane rental to do the removal was more expensive than what they wanted to spend to save it... The tubular booms are not solid the entire way thru... The are filled with air... They are heavy but not as heavy as some may think... 6s5uas

[Guest]

ASC stripped her of what they wanted. The hoist ram is gone and also the gear boxes and fluid drives for the loop belt are gone as well. I had also heard they wanted to save the boom but didn't really have a storage spot for it and the cost of having it removed was also in issue.

I would tend to believe that the cost of removing the boom as the overriding factor (perhaps it would have required a trip to a shipyard) as it seems they could have easily found a storage area on land or even possibly lash it to the deck of the laid up American Valor. Are there any crane equipped barges on the lakes that could have done this job? It don't seem like the boom would be very heavy, but the length may present some problems.

[Guest]

ASC stripped her of what they wanted. The hoist ram is gone and also the gear boxes and fluid drives for the loop belt are gone as well. I had also heard they wanted to save the boom but didn't really have a storage spot for it and the cost of having it removed was also in issue.

[wlbblw]

That's cool. I have a few shots with Clevland Cliffs boats layed up at Hannna like the Shoomamer/Boyer & the Mather.

[pcolachap]

Brian, the Weir probably never laid up in Buffalo. Hanna often had several smaller boats laid up there with storage grain in the pre Seaway era, before 1959. The Berwind was there in 1956. In this time frame their large vessels, Humphrey, Thompson & Weir would typically lay up in Lorain at the old B&O coal dock ~ presently DNR launching site, Ashtabula ~either side of the main river, or South Chicago, Duluth or Detroit. Following the closure of Great Lakes Engineering Works, most of the Hanna fleet laid up in Detroit, which became an enlarged Nichoson Terminal, unless there was a 5 year inspection. I have an old picture, vintage 1957, of the Weir fitting out at the New York Central coal dock in Ashtabula. Mike

[Captain Jason]

The hydraulic ram that raises the boom appears to be gone. Any ideas where it went?

[wlbblw]

Must have been a tight squeeze for her into Hanna Furnace. The clearance between the piers at the Furhman Blvd. lift bridge was pretty narrow. I wonder if they took tugs in & out of there? I also wonder if they ever layed her up there?

[Guest]

Seems like very late in the year for a scrap tow off the lakes. I would assume that the scrappers feel that the this ship is in good enough condition to make it to Texas in waters it was never built for during the onset of winter. Or is it possible that it may be tied up in a port like Montreal to await next spring?

[Guest]

There can be little doubt that the summit of US flagged traditional lake freighter design was reached during the 1950s. The American Ship Building Company's creations always seemed to me as being the most pleasing from an aesthetics point of view. Are there any sailors out there that have sailed on ships from both GLEW and Amship built during this timeframe that have any opinions on which, if either, they prefered to sail?

[Guest II]

Re: Is it the Cambria? The last time I saw the Cambria, she was in Mil;Waukee and had a black hull with white cabins. It would have been around the early to mid-seventies.

[Guest]

Apparently ASC predicts no long term growth to warrant the retention of the American Fortitude. This is very unfortunate as there appears to be a universal consensus that the ship's hull is in excellent condition. This decision is mostly likely a direct result of the move away from coal in favor of natural gas. I would not be surprised to see the Valor and Victory being sold within the next few seasons.

[garbear]

Neat postcard. What plants/docks did National Steel's boat deliver to?

I know when I sailed for USS they mostly went to Zug Island, Ecorse, MI. Think at that time it was called National Steel, Great Lakes Div.

[beartracks]

could it possibly be the Cambria

[beartracks]

The Weir went to Zug Island. Huron Oh. Buffalo, Ashtabula, Indiana Harbor, Cleveland and maybe a few more I might have forgoten, we alsso went to Gary once;

[wlbblw]

Neat postcard. What plants/docks did National Steel's boat deliver to?

[standuffer]

Is that the Hood in the background?

[Guest]

Here's a postcard of the Weir. Not sure of the date.

Sometimes the background of a postcard can be as interesting as the primary subject.

Is that the Buckeye (1) in the background? Without a date on the card it could be hard to tell. The Harry T. Ewig (scrapped in 1963) could fit the bill, it does not look like the O.S. McFarland (it had a shorter aftermast) or the W. C. Richardson.