Great lake boats, a good video

[ArlyA]

28 minutes into this video, the Michipicoten does a "ops" into the Duluth Harbor pier while while navigating there exit.. The river was up from heavy rains that weekend and boats struggled to maneuver in the high flow currents. This is a Interlake Steamship Co freighter built in 1952.

In the video you can see the exhaust pipe just behind the pilot house throwing hot gases out. This is the front thruster engines exhaust pipe.

 

[ArlyA]

Here is a nice video of the ore dock in Duluth MN loading pellets into a classic lake boat.

 

[JerryK]

Who is the idjet that dumps the ore on the deck without adjusting the chute length first... ???? Bet he does not own a broom .. [[ ]]

 

[Case 830]

They can do that with minimal accidents because most boats have a bow and stern thrusters. We lived on Park point for a while and my spouse is a Saint Scholastica grad.

Thrusters are not effective unless the vessel is going less than 2 mph usually. Rivers transit speeds are 9 mph+. Lots of experience and training is what keep the ships in the channel. The Captain and all Mates are licensed pilots for the areas they transit.

 

[Case 830]

Who is the idjet that dumps the ore on the deck without adjusting the chute length first... ???? Bet he does not own a broom .. [[ ]]

That would be the mate dumping the cargo on deck. The deckhands are the ones that have to shovel it or hose it off. A shovel full of iron ore is heavy. What’s worse is when using the old chutes(gravity) that dump from 50-500 tons at a time. If you bury that chute it has to be dug out to be raised.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Was up til two last night watching stuff on the Edmund Fitzgerald. Saw something today too. I didn't know they found bodies, twenty years later! How is that even possible? I keep wondering what it must have been like to be aboard that ship at the end.

 

[ArlyA]

Here is the Paul Tregurtha coming into Duluth, or the barn its called when they tie up for the winter.

 

[ArlyA]

Was up til two last night watching stuff on the Edmund Fitzgerald. Saw something today too. I didn't know they found bodies, twenty years later! How is that even possible? I keep wondering what it must have been like to be aboard that ship at the end.

The lake is cold but 20 years still seems long.

 

[ArlyA]

Great lakes high water news.

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Lake Erie just broke February high water record – and the lake level keeps rising

2/14 - Cleveland, OH – Lake Erie rose 5 inches in January. By the end of the month, lake levels were 7 inches above last January’s. And by Monday, the lake broke the February high water record, set in 1987.

The latest water forecast from the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers predicts Lake Erie will break monthly records for the next four months before leveling off in June and July. Levels should be 2-11 inches higher than they were last year.

Last year, boaters and beach goers throughout the Great Lakes were plagued by high water. Beaches and docks disappeared, roads and bike paths washed out, and at least one cottage collapsed into the water.

Erosion is made worse by the lack of ice this winter. As of Monday, only .4 percent of Lake Erie had ice, compared to the average of 67 percent on Feb. 10. No ice means more waves pounding the shore all winter long, eroding away cliffs, washing out beaches and damaging shoreline infrastructure. Lake Erie on Monday was 573.8 feet above sea level -- 35 inches above normal. The all-time record, set last June, is 574.3.

One reason for the increase in lake levels is rain: The Lake Erie basin had 2.78 inches of precipitation last month, about 112 percent of normal.

Because temperatures are above normal, more precipitation fell as rain instead of snow, according to the U.S. Army Corps. “This phenomenon, in addition to increased snowmelt, contributed to considerably above normal runoff to all of the Great Lakes.”

All of the Great Lakes are high. About 92 percent of the water in Lake Erie comes from the upper lakes, through Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River, into Lake Erie. And the upper lakes -- Superior, Huron and Michigan -- all hit record monthly highs in January.

Lake Erie then flows into the Niagara River, into Lake Ontario. The International Joint Commission can control outflow in the Great Lakes only from Superior and Ontario. But the impact is very small.

Cleveland.com

 

[ArlyA]

Copied from boat Nerd this morning.
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Opening of the Seaway and Maximum Allowable Drafts

2/26 - The opening of the 2020 navigation season is scheduled to take place on the following dates and times:

• Welland Canal: March 24 at 8 a.m.
• Montreal / Lake Ontario Section: April 1 at 8 a.m.

Vessel transits will be subject to weather and ice conditions. Restrictions may apply in some areas until lighted navigation aids have been installed.

The Soo Locks are currently scheduled to open on March 25.

Allowable Draft In the Montreal / Lake Ontario Section, the maximum allowable draft will be 80.0 dm (26' 3"). The maximum draft will be increased to 80.8 dm (26' 6") for all vessels when the South Shore Canal is ice-free and when water levels throughout the Montreal/Lake Ontario section are favorable. In the Welland Canal, a maximum allowable draft of 80.8 dm (26' 6") will be in effect from the start of the navigation season for all vessels.

The Seaway Corporations have been working with the International Joint Commission (IJC) and the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board (ILOSLRB) to monitor Lake Ontario water levels and forecasts for flooding around Lake Ontario this year. Based on the current conditions and forecasts provided by the ILOSLRB, the majority of benefits of lowering Lake Ontario levels by maintaining outflows above those safe for navigation in the Montreal / Lake Ontario Section of the Seaway occur before April 1, 2020. After that date, the benefits for lowering Lake Ontario by maintaining outflows above those safe for navigation are significantly reduced. Due to the dry conditions experienced in February thus far and the record outflows that the ILOSLRB has been able to maintain this winter, the probability of Lake Ontario being above flood levels has decreased and is now only approximately 35 percent. Beginning April 1, the Seaway Corporations will continue to work with Mariners to ensure the safety of navigation under outflows prescribed by the IJC and ILOSLRB.