Boatnerd Discussion Forum

I am 25 years old and an avid boatwatcher. I've moved away from my stomping grounds to a more landlocked location in the region, but still take every chance I get back in Green Bay to catch a boat or two when I visit.

Collecting items from the boats and maritime history of the lakes is very important to me. I see myself as a protector of the items and their stories that are told to me by those who I get them from. At my age, I hopefully can preserve those memories and stories for a longer time into the future than someone who's in their later years.

Mine is a generation comfortable with disposables and temporary fixes. I call it complacency, and in my opinion it's shortsighted. There are still those my age out there that believe their's something important in remembering the past and pride in your neighbors' work. There are still more that are finding the value of these things as they get older - I see it in my friends more every year.

In a nutshell, young boatnerds are still out there, and we soak up the stories of generations before us like a sponge, so please keep sharing.

Take the kids out to your favorite boatwatching spots and tell them you're on a picnic, when they spot the boat it will be like a treasure found. surprises spark interest, Gramps always said "Let's go for ice cream" Then we stopped at the quarry to watch the boats with our cones, I never realized how it would stick with me in later years, then it was just fun, still is and yes I still stop for ice cream along the way...

[quote="CottonwoodStudios"]It's very reassuring to see my young son so interested in the ships. He's 5 years old and can pick out the boat daddy sailed on. He is fascinated with the ships, as I was when I was his age. On the same note, I'm looking for some advice from veteran parents/sailors/boatwatchers out there. He's been asking for a couple years now to go with me when I visit the ship. Because we live in Green Bay, we only see the ship and crew when they fit out in Milwaukee. What do you think is an appropriate age to bring him with? I'm mainly thinking safety wise, the biggest obstacle and safety hazard being the boarding ladder. Your thoughts?[/quote]

I am sure that if you requested, some type of safety belt or harness could be rigged up for the little 'nerd. However, it seems that most kids have very little fear of heights - much to the parent's dismay - and actually do better on ladders than the adults do/

I can agree with the declining, of where a person can view picture taking other than duluth,most ports are fenced in. this web site furnishes the best of the past and present ships available. if it seems dull to see the same ships all the time in lay up or on the day you visit. get that photo even if you seen her 50 times.i thought the same and she was being scrapped the following year.i wished then i had that photo.my son liked going to take ship photo's because it was free lunch and father son bonding he is in his mid twenties and always tries to get ship stuff for the holidays even if its chocolate covered ore boats from duluth or books from museums,to pictures on u tube.i grew up by the shipyard in chicago and seen ships all the time in the winter when i was young.don't live near the boats more but can't wait to see them when can.even if it's the same ones i always see.

in the winter of 1948 or 1949 my Dad, Mom, kid sister and I kept ship on the A. M. Byers at the Reiss dock in Green Bay. I was your son's age at the time and managed just fine.

In fact, I made my way up the stack and was talked down without incident (except for later...).

It's very reassuring to see my young son so interested in the ships. He's 5 years old and can pick out the boat daddy sailed on. He is fascinated with the ships, as I was when I was his age. On the same note, I'm looking for some advice from veteran parents/sailors/boatwatchers out there. He's been asking for a couple years now to go with me when I visit the ship. Because we live in Green Bay, we only see the ship and crew when they fit out in Milwaukee. What do you think is an appropriate age to bring him with? I'm mainly thinking safety wise, the biggest obstacle and safety hazard being the boarding ladder. Your thoughts?

Some of my happy memories of boat watching have to do with watching the boats come and go from Ashtabula. Even better was when I would make a trip with dad in the 50s. We would sit in the swing in the forward end while in the rivers. We'd listen to the passing signals and try to guess whether we were meeting a "Steel Truster" or whether the ship was towing a barge. Ah, those were the days. Mike

When I was young my father had a business-Marine Photographs by Paul A. Michaels-to sell boat pictures to the crews. Every Sunday weather permitting we would get in the Family Truckster and make the hour drive from our home in Flint to Port Huron. We usually stayed in Port Huron about 8 hours. During that time we usually saw an average of 30 boats. Thats almost 4 boats an hour or about 1 every 15 minutes. We would go up by the lighthouse and the horizon would be full of smoke and ships in line as far as one could see. Then again USS alone had more ships sailing then there are total sailing on the lakes right now. This also had an impact on my brother and I as we both wound up sailing the lakes when we were old enough. Back then there was an interest but without things like Boatnerd we had no way to know about each others interest in ships.

Back "in the day" our family wagon would crest the hill on M-115 in Frankfort on our way to church on Sunday morning. All eyes were immediately on the waterfront on Betsie Bay to see which Ann Arbor 'boats' were in port. The Viking? Wabash? Arthur K. Atkinson? It was a contest among us kids to correctly ID the boats. After church, we'd drive over to Elberta and watch them load and unload the boats. When the Ann Arbor ceased car ferry operations, so ended the boat watching opportunities for a number of us younger kids. I'm grateful to have had my interest re-kindled by a stint in the Navy and many trips to Duluth and Superior in the 1980's, where my love of, and fascination with ships returned. As for today's youth--they seem to be uninterested in 'old' technology like shipping that continue to keep our world turning!

Back in the 1950's we had a summer home on Russell Island and I remember a boat passing every 8 minutes. Those times are gone now and I miss the many different types of ships that used the river when I visit Port Huron. When your young you want to see something 'happen' when you go boat watching. Now days you have to wait a long time to see boats passing.

When you see a crowd as in the photo below, it gives hope that ship watching has not lost all it's charm!

I got my drivers license in 1976 and made my first solo trip to Duluth in summer '77. I mainly wanted to watch trains on the DM&IR but I liked ships too so I visited the lift bridge. I was standing there with my Kodak Instamatic (that was all the camera I could afford in those days) and somehow struck up a conversation with a boat fan who looked to be in his 50's, carrying multiple 35mm cameras with different lenses. The Cason J. Callaway passed through and I told my companion that the US Steel boats were my favorites. He asked me why and I told him because they were regular visitors to Duluth-Superior and they always seemed to look good and well-maintained. He then told me how boring the USS boats were, how they all looked the same, and wondered aloud why he even bothers coming out here anymore. "This is nothing like it was in the 50's," he told me, "Then it was fun to watch the boats!" Well, as a relatively new boat fan this was a little deflating as I gradually eased away so I wasn't standing next to him. His crabby attitude was nothing new to me as I had heard the same speech from older rail fans who were still mourning the demise of steam 20 years before, so I did not let him discourage me.
Fast forward to 2013 and now [i][b]I[/b][/i] am the old geezer in his 50's watching trains and boats. And, sad to say, I have to regularly remind myself not to take that same crabby attitude among the younger generation of fans. I will say that in some ways the rail industry is much more enjoyable to watch now because most railroads make a profit, traffic is growing on many lines, and trains run faster. All of which was unimaginable to me back in the 70's when I was watching freights of 40-foot boxcars rock along at 10mph with the ties pumping up and down in the mud.
Great Lakes shipping is a bit more challenging for me as it just does not look like a growing industry. Since I don't live on the seaway or the rivers, it is frustrating to have to plan trips to Duluth in advance to try and coordinate my visit with a daylight ship departure or arrival. But when I do happen to catch a ship under the bridge, it is encouraging to see crowds of people with a lot of little kids. Hopefully, with a little mentoring from all of us, they'll find trains and ships as interesting as I did back in the 70's.

There is hope...The back cover shot of the upcoming KYS was taken by a 14 year old..And another young boatnerd (around 16, I think) was the driving force of an impromptu picnic at Belle Isle last September.

Guest touched on a couple of valid points - a diminishing fleet and the likeness or similarity of the new builds. The silhouettes of the modern lakers are nearly identical when compared to the vessels that were sailing just 20 years ago. Another point is accessibility - It used to be that when a boat was docked, a person could get reasonably close or even be invited aboard. Now, fences surround the docks and access has been severely restricted. Also, modern navigational aids have somewhat reduced the use of ships' whistles - as a kid, one of my biggest thrills was listening to those mighty blasts .. even better if the Captain saw me waving from shore then blasted away. In later years, I sailed with several guys that used to bet on the whistles while in the rivers - they would hear a whistle and then name the boat. The loser would have to pay up - usually with a cold beer. Back then, a highlight in a sailor's life was sitting on deck while in the St Clair or Detroit rivers on a hot July afternoon with a cold beer and sightseeing.

I agree with Bookworm about having parents, grandparents, teachers and other adults taking the time to show young children the ships. If the kids aren't interested, at least they were shown, and that might stick in their brain and spark an interest later in life.
I was lucky in that I grew up around water, boating, fishing, camping. Living in MN, my parents took us camping on the north shore of Lake Superior many times. We'd always stop in Duluth to watch the boats go under the lift bridge so close you could almost touch them. Same in Two Harbors. We learned while camping along the north shore if upbound boats went past real close to shore they were going to Two Harbors, a little further out they were going to Duluth, and way out they were going to Superior. When they were close to shore, a Two Harbors run, we'd bug my dad into taking us in the car to Two Harbors to watch the boat come in. You had a ring side seat there, and that was back when the Edna G. assisted the boats in docking. I had parents who showd us kids stuff, and that stuck with me and my younger sister. She also fell in love with Lake Superior and likes watching the boats. She and her hubby bought a cabin near Hancock, MI on the Keweenaw and she tells me when they see the Alder, or other large boats heading through the shipping channel up there.
Sometimes it just takes someone to plant that little spark to get a child's interest that could last a lifetime!

I was crossing the blue water bridge about 10 years ago and watched a freighter going down stream. I was intrigued by it and went around by Cargil's terminal to see another one loading. Now I have trucked into that terminal for years and not really considered where may grain was destined for or how it was going to get there. Now my 8 year old every time we go over the bridge has me drive around to the north slip and by the terminal and to see what boats are in for repair at (I believe it is Shelley?? marine). It makes me smile as her grandma told me how she enjoyed the afternoons my Dad took her over to sit by the river and watch the boats pass by...it is not dead, just needs to be presented in the right way, of course my 8 year old is also interested in the workings of every piece of farm equipment here to...muc as I was at her age...

I can understand your concern, but there are positive signs, when you know where to look for them. There are school teachers who incorporate GL shipping in their lessons. Math, science, geography, reading and writing skills are more fun if the students can relate to the processes. When you look at the Duluth Entry webcam, there are always children, youth and adults watching for the ships. The Welland Canal & Soo Locks draw families and the children have an unforgettable up-close-and-personal experience watching ships lock through. From the Soo, if they go to Mission Point or Rock Cut -- and someone from the crew waves, calls, or sounds a salute to them -- that really perks an interest! At Port Huron's Great Lakes Maritime Center, children frequently accompany their teachers, parents and grandparents and can ask some pretty incredible questions about the ships they see passing. Before 911, it was easier to watch ships loading or unloading, but that has been mostly abolished by Homeland Security and safety rules. It may seem there is less interest. Maybe you're right, but I believe it is up to us to spark that interest in the youth we know.

Most of us grew up in a slower paced time. We were able to approach the ships as they docked in smaller ports and on occasion even board one as a guest.
With this electronic age kids now communicate with BFF from all over the United States and the world.
Last fall I drove my teen granddaughter to a youth concert and as we passed the Fox Theater in Detroit the marquee had a sign saying welcome donnie and marie, my 17 year old asked, grandpa who are they

How can we get the young interested in boatwatching? I see very few young people interested in this hobby. I grew up during the 1970s and early 1980s, and even then it seemed like the majority of people interested in the hobby were middle aged and older. With the new series of ships being built for the Canadian fleet, there will be less diversity than ever on that side of the lakes. My son, who is now 21, is not interested in the least in the ships. And from the events I attend I see very few young people participating. When I grew up the Great Lakes fleet was declining at a rapid rate. Although, this has stabilized over the years, the number of passages in the future will never compete with those of the past. I would assume that over the years there has been a decline in membership of the various historical groups around the lakes. This is not a situation unique to the Great Lakes, as most younger people seem to have no interest in history despite the fact that information is more widely to the average person today than at any time in the history of civilization. I will give an example. One day at work I mentioned Jesse James to a pair of employees in their early twenties. At first they thought I was talking about the guy who was Sandra Bullock's husband at the time, and had no clue in who the outlaw was. Perhaps I'm just getting old (45), but I had to walk away shaking my head. In today's world of instant electronic entertainment, I really question what the future holds for the hobby.