ROBERT S.PIERSON

[Guest]

I'm no expert and do not have plans for the Pierson, but her rudder is likely 20 feet or more tall and 12 feet or more long, too big to truck without wide load permits, etc.

[ejawac6n]

So how was the rudder delivered from sault ste. Marie? My guess is by transport truck but I'm not a rocket scientist. Some please give us the answer

[Mn bob]

Are they delivering the lost rudder for the Robert s Pearson by barge or by truck to superior? Any info is appreciated. Tia

[Guest]

Perhaps they might be able to obtain a used one at MRC in port colborne. Send it to superior by transport

Rudders are not one size fits all. They are ship design specific.

Exactly right! There is a significant amount of calculations involved in the design of a rudder of a vessel some of which would be size, horsepower, propeller dimensions, etc. A rudder is one of the most important components of a ship's design and construction and your point that they are not "one size fits all" says it all in a nutshell.

[Guest]

Now that the rudder has been recovered, anyone know how it's getting to the shipyard? I figure by truck the quickest. On deck of another Rand boat the cheapest!

[Guest]

Perhaps they might be able to obtain a used one at MRC in port colborne. Send it to superior by transport

Rudders are not one size fits all. They are ship design specific.

[Geest]

Looks like the Adnac III and WI Scott Purvis are out hunting for it now NW of Gros Cap

[jim gallant]

Perhaps they might be able to obtain a used one at MRC in port colborne. Send it to superior by transport

[Guest]

It is likely that every effort will be made to locate and recover the rudder. I'm assuming that it was not lost in shallow water or it is likely that there would already be a recovery effort underway to remove a hazard to passing vessels.

[Darryl1]

@ Luth. They would try to recover the rudder if at all possible. It would be quicker and cheaper. They have been recovered recently in other situations. If in the St. Marys River they got a pretty good idea where it fell off the stern. I have not heard yet of a recovery project underway. It could be in just 30 feet of water.

[Jared]

Would the rudder be something they would recover (if feasible) and reused? Would that be worth the time and expense vs. just making a new one? Which I suppose itself would take time and money.

Yes they will look for it. I was hired to search for the rudder that fell off the ATB Olive Moore in the Detroit River in 2016? And the anchor that the Great Republic lost off of Presque Isle. It's cheaper to find it than to fabricate new ones.

[Guest]

It doesn’t appear that they are being towed. They must have installed a temporary, fixed rudder for the trip across the lake.

HUH?😳.please explain how that would have been done with the ship in the water and no heavy equipment brought to goulais bay. They are being towed.

[Guest]

It doesn’t appear that they are being towed. They must have installed a temporary, fixed rudder for the trip across the lake.

HUH?😳.please explain how that wound have been done with the ship in the water and no heavy equipment brought to goulais bay

[Luth]

Would the rudder be something they would recover (if feasible) and reused? Would that be worth the time and expense vs. just making a new one? Which I suppose itself would take time and money.

[Geest]

Ship was most definitely towed across the lake, they arrived on a wire at 245am via the Superior entry and are now in drydock

[Guest]

It doesn’t appear that they are being towed. They must have installed a temporary, fixed rudder for the trip across the lake.

[Hobieone]

I see on AIS that avenger is trailing astern of Pierson. Is that how things are out in the open lake ? i.e. Pierson is the power and Avenger hangs back and yanks the stern onto the correct heading ?
I imagine when they get to port the tug will be "hardwired" to the Pierson, but out on the lake it seems like the "towee" is the "tower" .....

[Darryl1]

Gros Cap, bad place to lose the rudder. Just ask the old crew of the Blough. I don't think the time they hit the rocks there was one of the times they lost their rudder, but was more of a navigation error. The cost of doing maintenance is the cost of doing business. Those hedge fund types have to show a profit immediately. I hope no one's bonus will be affected. The Fraser Yard might be the new home for a lot of gray stack fleet hulls.

[Mr Link]

Does anyone have an AIS screenshot of her track when the rudder was lost? How did they make into the bay without the rudder?

AIS data shows that the W I Scott Purvis was in the same general area as the Pierson when the Pierson moved from near the normal shipping channel up into Goulais Bay. Based on spotty AIS data alone, it might have assisted the Pierson into the bay.

[Guest]

I've heard of a fair number of lost rudders since first going online as a teenager back in the 1990's and discovering this site. Not sure that one can read anything into this incident since while not routine, it does happen on occasion.