Great lake boats, a good video

[ArlyA]

I posted this video some time ago but it is so darn good, time to post again. This vessel (not sure which boat it is) is in the St Louis river in Duluth MN awaiting his turn at the Midwest coal dock to load via thrusters. He is holding his position in the rivers current via thrusters but i'd guess is using his main engines as well. This is such a neat video!

 

[5030]

I looked for but could not locate a GW ship yard. Gone? I had freinds try to get me to work with them at Frazier (spelling?) in Superior WI.

They are defunct but here is the real estate listing anyway. Could not remember the name of the road they were on, it's Carter Road which parallels the Cuyahoga River.

The did coal to oil conversions and bow and stern thruster work plus hull plates.

1892 Carter Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113 | LoopNet

1892 Carter Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113. This space can be viewed on LoopNet. 19,011 S/F divided in to four areas: 20'x102', 59'x60', 59'

www.loopnet.com

 

[oosik]

Arlyn - several of the videos show these ships going thru "green" water and leaving an open clear trace behind the ship. What is all of this - surface algae growth being pushed aside by the ships passage.

If the amount of material loaded on these ships must be adjusted because of water depth - there must be certain areas where there is not a whole lot of water under the keel.

All of this reminds me of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Gordon Lightfoot and the tolling of the ships bell.

 

[5030]

The Great Lakes all have green and blue algae issues in the summer months. Some worse than others.

 

[oosik]

5030 - thanks for your answer. Began to wonder if I was just me.

 

[cqaigy2]

I've often wondered why the newer ships' bridges are all the way aft.
Seems like the older ships had the bridge on the bow and another deck house all the way aft. I'm assuming the aft deckhouse controlled the engines and rudder. I'm also assuming the newer ships' small deckhouse is for the forward watch

In this thread, i was told it was probably cheaper to put the bridges closer to where all the gear it connect to is.

 

[ArlyA]

The Great Lakes all have green and blue algae issues in the summer months. Some worse than others.

The greatest lake has nearly no issues with blooms. We have kayakers looking at tools that were dropped from rock barges 100+ years ago that are over 20ft down. They think they're in 6ft of water.

 

[5030]

Erie does, every summer.

 

[ArlyA]

In this thread, i was told it was probably cheaper to put the bridges closer to where all the gear it connect to is.

Its not "probably cheaper", its millions less costly to build them that way. The Cortney was the last boat built with a forward pilot house and they found they do just fine with the poorer front visibility. In a harbors, you can put a crewman with a radio up front to watch for silly sport boaters and such. The rear pilot boats were thought to have more accidents but it practice, in wasn't the case. Go figure.

 

[ArlyA]

If the amount of material loaded on these ships must be adjusted because of water depth - there must be certain areas where there is not a whole lot of water under the keel.

If you watch videos of boats going up the St Louise river in MN, or the Cuyahoga in OH or the Rogue river in Detroit. In each you can see the thrusters churning up the bottoms mud. Some harbors are on the shallow side as well. So the captains need to decide from where they are heading to unload and what might lake and river levels are on the way. Its the risk and tonnage or hitting the bottom, they'll need to calculate.