Lake Freighter - Famous Vessels

Famous Vessels

See also: Museum and historic ships of the Great Lakes

The most famous laker was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald (popularized by Gordon Lightfoot's song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" in 1976), which sank on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. The Fitz was the first boat with a length of 729 feet (222 m) and the flagship of the Columbia Steamship Division of Oglebay Norton Co. The MV Stewart J. Cort was the first of the 1,000-foot (300 m) oreboats.

The first laker with self-unloading equipment was the Hennepin (formerly the George H. Dyer) a small wooden laker that was refitted with the equipment in 1902. The first laker built as a self-unloader was the Wyandotte launched in 1908. Before these, all boats were unloaded with shoreside equipment. Self-unloading equipment worked well for cargoes that could "flow" out of the holds onto belts, such as coal and limestone. It did not work well for grain, which flowed too readily and would spill off the conveyors, or iron ore, which would not flow well and would hang up in the hold. Because the predominant cargo for lakers was iron ore, self-unloaders did not become common until higher grade ores were depleted and taconite pellets were developed in the 1970s. Steam power first appeared in the 1860s and became the standard source of power for over a century. The Canadian grainboat Feux Follets of 1967 was the last laker to be built with a steam turbine and thus was the last steamer built on the lakes. Ford Motor Company's Henry Ford 2nd and Benson Ford of 1924 were the first lakeboats with diesel engines. Diesel powerplants did not become standard until the 1970s. The last active ships of 1920s vintage, and the oldest ships still operating in non-specialized bulk trades is the motor vessels Maumee of Lower Lakes Transportation. She was built as the William G Clyde for US Steel. The S. T. Crapo, inactive since 1996, was built to haul cement for Huron Cement Co. back in 1927 and was the second ship of that design, the first being the John G Boardman of the same company. The Crapo was the last coal burning freighter on the Great Lakes.

The classic design of cabins fore-and-aft with open decks over the hold started with the 208-foot (63 m) long R. J. Hackett, designed and built by Elihu Peck in 1869. The first iron-hulled laker was the Brunswick, launched at Detroit in 1881. The Brunswick sank after a collision later that year and was apparently little known. Many follow the lead of the contemporary Cleveland press and credit the Onoko as the first iron-hulled laker, launched in 1882. The Onoko’s higher center section did become a standard for later lakers. At 302 feet (92 m), the Onoko was the first bulk carrier to hold the unofficial title of Queen of the Lakes (longest vessel on the lakes). The SS Carl D. Bradley (1927 – 640 feet) held the title for 22 years, longer than any other laker of the classic design. The Bradley is also known for breaking her back and foundering in a Lake Michigan storm in 1958. There were only two survivors.

Currently that title is held by the modern stern-ender Paul R. Tregurtha. Launched in 1981 as the William J. Delancy, and measuring 1,013.5 feet (308.9 m), the Paul R. Tregurtha has held the title since her launch. The Wilfred Sykes (1949 – 678 feet) is considered to be the first of the modern lakers, and when converted to a self-unloader in 1975 was the first to have the equipment mounted aft. Since then all self-unloading equipment has been mounted aft. The Algoisle (formerly the Silver Isle) (1962 – 715.9 feet) was the first modern laker built with all cabins aft (a “stern-ender”), following the lead of ocean-going bulk carriers and reprising a century old form used by little river steam barges and the whalebacks. The Stewart Cort (1971) was the first 1,000 footer and the only “footer” built in the classic cabins-fore-and-aft style. The Algosoo (1974 – 730 feet) was the last laker built in the classic style.

Also of note is the steamer Edward L. Ryerson, widely known for her artistic design and being the only remaining straight-decked (without self unloading machinery) freighter still in active service on the US side of the Great Lakes (the only other US straight decker still listed is the John Sherwin, has not sailed since 1981 and is currently docked in Detour, Michigan after conversion to a self unloader and repowering was halted in November 2008). In the summer of 2006, the Ryerson was fitted out and put into service following a long-term lay-up that began in 1998. The Ryerson has been meticulously maintained, and was often used as a museum boat for tours. She was put back into service due to a lack of reliable hulls on the Lakes, and a need for more tonnage. (The Canadian fleet retains a number of active straight-deckers for use in transporting grain, which is not well suited for self-unloading equipment. Most US grain is currently transported by rail.)

In film, the W. W. Holloway (since scrapped) is famous for being the lake freighter that the Blues Brothers jump their 1974 Dodge over when Elwood jumps the open 95th Street Draw Bridge.