Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Very interesting info, Thanks Duluth guest!

It's been discussed rather extensively on here in the past but it's rather doubtful that she would have ever been converted in my humble opinon. There was discussion in 1975 and the drawings were completed to lengthen her at Fraser in the same manner as the Arthur B. Homer but rumor was that ON declined that project proposal.

While the cargo hold configuration wasn't an issue, fuel tank placement during her conversion from coal was. Like the John Sherwin, who was also built as a coal burner with a coal bunker immediately behind the last cargo hold, when the conversion to oil firing was done, the fuel oil tanks were placed within, or occupied the same space as the coal bunker. This space is where the unloading elevator trunk would have been had she received a stern mounted self unloader. To complete that conversion, the fuel oil tanks would have had to have been relocated as saddle tanks which obviously would have increased the cost of the conversion. A bow mounted self unloader may have been an alternative, again, in comparing it to the John Sherwin, this is what Interlake had planned but that really hasn't developed any further. O/N converted the Crispin Olgebay and J. Burton Ayers in 1974 so they had 2 brand new conversions already to fill the needs of ports where that configuration worked better. O/N did indeed convert the MIddletown, Armco and Courtney Burton but all three of those were oil burners with saddle tanks. The Burton was somewhat of an anomoly since she was a converted from coal firing to oil. Her saddle fuel tank capacity was rather small compared to other vessels and required frequent stops at the gas-station. This in conjunction with her smaller capacity, kept her on the wall often through the 1980s.

The Herbert C. Jackson is another example of a coal fired boat being converted to oil and a self unloader and is the nearest design to the Fitzgerald that exists today. Her after-end machinery arrangement is vastly different if I recall, kinda backwards so-to-speak; her coal bunker was behind the stack rather than in front of it if I remember the layout properly.

Not sure on that question Scott however, I think I’ve seen and read here talks by a few about the possibility maybe of lengthening her before the sinking? It’s hard to judge and say at this point as she had a 25 year hauling contract when she was built in 1958 I believe it was back then? So, that contract I would think would have expired in 1983 if I’m right on my information? I guess my points would be, during the 1980s the U.S. was facing a bad economy and recessions thus several classic lakers were laid up and some were sent to scrap way before their time. The Fitzgerald’s sistership the Homer was lengthened but never converted to a self-unloader! She sat in layup for many years never sailing again and was never converted to a self-unloader. However, a reason for this could be Bethlehem Steel built the Cort and later other 1,000 footers that may explain why the Homer wasn’t converted to an unloader? Also, Bethlehem decided to convert their Sparrows Point into an unloader thus leaving its near sister the Johnstown without an unloader. So again, all we are left with is speculation on the Fitzgerald’s future had she not sunk? Some have even suggested that had she survived the sinking, she quite possibly could have been sold for scrap in the 80s with many lakers then laid up due to the economy. It’s a hard one to say.

I have asked myself that question before. It probably would have been converted in the early 1980’s when the Reserve, Armco and Middletown got converted. Had that happened it could conceivably still be operating in some form or at least laid up in Toledo next to the American Valor and be named the American Honor.

I was just curious, was there any talk before she was lost in 1975 of the Edmund Fitzgerald being converted to a self unloading vessel?