Boatnerd Discussion Forum

S.S. James Norris was in Colbourne , Ontario in the early `90s when a Lake Ontario storm hit . Even with extra lines her port side took a beating and she sank at the dock to her spar deck level - check previous News Photo Galleries , look at the pics of her being towing to and in Port Weller DDock . Lot of Engine Room water damage and clean up costs , as well as the port side plating and frames damage .

I read that -forget which- either 15 or 23 truckloads of hardened concrete were removed from her hull, and that the repairs came to $4 million. 30 years later -today- at 3% inflation, the present value is just under $10 million. Memo to young'ns- save your pennies!

If I remember correctly there was only a crust on the cargo about 4-5 inches thick.

as i recall they did it the old fashioned way, with jack hammers and had to break it all out. towed it to Bayship for repairs which meant more of the same to clean it all out. There are articles around somewhere if you do some searching online or on this site.

Guest wrote:The E.M. Ford sinking at a dock in Milwaukee during a gale back in 1979 comes to mind. It was loaded at the time, too.

In regard to this, I've always wondered just how they got that mess out of her hull! Sounds like a Terrible job. Especially in Milwaukee in late December!

The E.M. Ford sinking at a dock in Milwaukee during a gale back in 1979 comes to mind. It was loaded at the time, too.

How true it is. In '91 I was aboard USS Forrestal (aircraft carrier) when we had to leave Pensacola FL in a hurry to get out of the way of Hurricane Andrew. I also remember a very windy night at the C&P in Cleveland as the Joe Thompson finished unloading. The ship was "surging at the dock", that is going up and down with the waves coming from Lake Erie. It made getting on and off the ladder an interesting event. Mike

"The Navy always sends there vessels to sea to ride out storm."

Same thing applies to small boats sometimes. I was in Whitehall, Michigan a number of years ago with a 23-foot Slickcraft when a storm approached. I went right out and untied it and headed out in the Lake to ride it out. No problem.

Algomarine has made it to South Chicago before the storm hit. As stated above, the dock is not always the safest place to be during storm. Extra lines, do not always keep the boat at the dock. Don't know if tugs would be available to help? The Navy always sends there vessels to sea to ride out storm. A lot of damage can be done when the boat can not be kept secure to dock, she will run up and down dock according to wind and be pulled away and then back against the face of dock.