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I remember Capt Turner being first mate and relief Capt on Senator of Canada for what seemed like years nice fellow.

I was going to Navigation School in the early 1970 s at Owen Sounds Georgian College and Captain Carl Turner was my chart work instructor. He was a very good instructor and did not put up with fools very well, however if he could see that you were sincere about succeeding he would go the extra mile to help you do that. Captain Carl Turner was an inspiration to many of us that never got the chance to thank him in person.

How was Captain Burns to serve under. I never sailed with him but knew him well and found him a real gentleman . I also remember Captain Turner from nav school at the coliseum in Owen Sound another great guy.

Skipper9 what ship was that on?

thank you for refreshing my memory. i lost my first discharge book and didn't recall the names associated with early sailing. bill requested me to be his 3rd mate as a young man and was a great mentor to me. as master i can say he would be a great person in any part of any crew great or small. wonderfull felllow.

Yes Garbar was on the Canadian side Seafarers Union

Remember going aboard Senator of Canada mid 70s I think Bill Rumsey was first mate and Murdo Macdonald was skipper.

[quote="Doug Pruder"]I was on Quedoc,Senator of Canada ,also Comeaudoc.was one of the last Bosuns on the lakes and yes the Paterson fleet were one of the best First mate was Bill Rumsey one of the best to work for this was in mid 70s before diesel conversion.[/quote]

When you say "was one of the last Bosuns on the lakes" does that mean the Canadian lakers? Because I thought some of the U.S. lakers still had bosuns.

I was on Quedoc,Senator of Canada ,also Comeaudoc.was one of the last Bosuns on the lakes and yes the Paterson fleet were one of the best First mate was Bill Rumsey one of the best to work for this was in mid 70s before diesel conversion.

Always thought they should have put variable pitch prop would have helped. Rumour has it that they wouldn't have converted her had they known the Hall boats would be available a yr or so later, running joke within the company was they could have almost bought Hall out altogether with the money the conversion cost.

When the Comeaudoc was re-engined with a diesel direct drive it changed the handling significantly.
With the turbine there was always a flow past the small rudder but when the diesel stopped there was no steerage as no flow.
Was a big mistake that that obsolete boat was converted in my opinion

Senator of Canada must have been along with Comeaudoc the company guest ships for Patersons back in the seventies knew a fellow who worked for a stevedore firm and new when the company guests were coming aboard as the food and beverage orders would change said it was always those 2 vessels .

If memory serves me correct the paterson 600 ft vessels back hauled most of there ore up the river at Buffalo and Cleveland which there smaller size was ideally suited for with the collapse of those trades they were basically competing with 730s for grain out the seaway. Thanks for mentioning ships you dont here much about anymore, 3 gorgeous ships when ever I had a chance to visit them always painted up and spotless, Paterson really looked after there ships in the good old days.

Paterson wasn't the only Canadian fleet to send young vessels to the boneyard at that time - R. Bruce Angus, Gordon C. Leitch, Frank A. Sherman, Menihek Lake, Georgian Bay, Nipigon Bay, Sir James Dunn, John E.F. Misener, Golden Hind all come to mind as vessels retired in the early 80s at the age of 30 or younger. The economy just couldn't support that many grain carriers smaller than max Seaway length.

I don't know what the grain market was like back then, but at the same time Paterson launched the new MAK-powered [i]Paterson[/i], and soon after the 730-foot [i]Comeaudoc[/i] received a MAK Diesel. My guess is the boilers for their turbines were too thirsty, especially considering the economic climate of the time and the long haul from Thunder Bay to the eastern grain transshipment points. Also, their capacities, especially compared to the new [i]Paterson[/i], were limited given their less than maximum Seaway/Welland size. I think the new [i]Paterson[/i] could haul almost twice what the old one did. So, limited capacity and high fuel costs equal demolition.

In the mid-1980s, Paterson retired three relatively young steamers: Paterson, Senator of Canada, and Quedoc. All were sold for demolition between 1984 and 1985. I know that all spent some time idle, but not prolonged compared to some other vessels of the era. Was it a reduction in the movement of grain that led to the demise of these vessels? Or were some other factors in play? I was relatively young at the time and only had the opportunity to see one of these ships (I believe it was the Quedoc) on one occasion as it passed Marine City downbound in a snowstorm.