Boatnerd Discussion Forum

GHboatwatcher wrote:if all LLT vessels are named after rivers, (with the exeption of the peirson) what would they rename her if they brought her back to service? would they name her maumee if by then the original is gone? that is what they did with the calumets. so, anyone have any names suggested?

GHboatwatcher

Great question. LLT could have a fun naming contest with this if they wanted. As mentioned, there seem to be some caveats to the river theme, in addition to the Pierson. Supposedly the Mississagi is named after the Mississagi Strait and not the river. And is there an Ojibway River? What is the Ojibway named after? Just the tribe? Also, am I correct that all of their river names seem to have native american origins? And all of the names seem to be represent commercially important rivers with ports at their mouths?

At any rate there are numerous river names that meet those criteria that are currently unused as boat names to my knowledge. Just in around Lake Michigan these include Milwaukee, Macatawa, Muskegon, and Menominee just off the top of my head. Probably there are a bunch of options on the other lakes and down the Seaway.

Dan

From outward apperanaces, one could have assumed that LLT had originally planned this year to be the end of Maumee. Based upon photos, no paint to protect against the highly corrosive salt cargos has been applied to the boat (particularly the decks) for many years. The only exception was of half of the boom a couple of years ago. My guess at the time that it was preventative to keep the boom from falling off prematurely. At this point she looks neglected much like the Calumet did at end.

Let's hope this old gal has nine lives to see another day!

if all LLT vessels are named after rivers, (with the exeption of the peirson) what would they rename her if they brought her back to service? would they name her maumee if by then the original is gone? that is what they did with the calumets. so, anyone have any names suggested?

GHboatwatcher

I would think that it would be the cargo holds and ballast tanks that would need the most work, not the hull itself.

Sharyl wrote:I finally just went and had a look at C.T.C. #1 in the Photo Gallery here at Boatnerd. I understand that she's now a storage barge, but before she became C.T.C. #1, what vessel was she and/or what is her history?

Storage barge or not, I think she's beautiful!

Since I often see this boat I spent a little time sorting out it's history a few months back. Here is a synopsis:

She was commissioned by the U.S. Maritime Commission during the depths of WWII. One of 16 "Maritimers" ordered and produced.

She was built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works, and launched in 1943 as the McINTYRE at River Rouge, Detriot, Michigan.

She was acquired by Interlake Steamship Company before entering service and renamed FRANK PURNELL (1). Hence she never sailed as McINTYRE. She sailed for Interlake as the PURNELL from 1943 until 1966 when she was acquired by Bethlehem Steel.

She was acquired by Bethlehem as a trade with Interlake in 1966. The two companies traded boats and traded names. Hence the FRANK PURNELL (1) became the STEELTON (3), and the STEELTON (2) became the FRANK PURNELL (2). This causes confusion during internet searches. The boat that took the FRANK PURNELL (2) name in 1966 was renamed ROBERT C. NORTON in 1974, and scrapped as the NORTON in 1994.

The STEELTON (3) sailed for Bethlehem until 1978 when she was acquired by the Cement Transport Company, a division of Medusa Cement.

She was renamed "Hull No. 3" briefly in 1978 in order to free up the STEELTON name for another ship.

She was renamed PIONEER (3) in 1979, and chartered to Cleveland Cliffs for the 1979 season. She only sailed one season for Cliffs.

She lay idle for a couple of years (1980-1981) as the PIONEER (3) until being towed to Bay ship for conversion to a cement transport vessel 1n 1982. She was then renamed C.T.C. No. 1 and berthed in Lake Calumet, Chicago, IL at the Medusa/Southdown/St. Marys Cement terminal from 1982 until March of 2009.

Early in 2009 she was towed away from the St. Marys berth in Lake Calumet. She spent the summer of 2009 tied up along the river and has been tied up next to an elevator (not sure of the name) since the autumn of 2009. This is where the John Sherwin sat from Sept 2006 until June 2008.

If anybody has any corrections to this account feel free...

Dan

P.S. I see this is mostly summarized in the latest (December 20) News edition.

Brent wrote:From what I hear from a guy who sailed her for years JAW's needs a lot of plate work, especially the bottom. Maybe a better bet would be the Townsend, though small she is already a diesel. it would seem that the cost would be more having to convert a cement boat, as they would have to take out all the cement unloading eqp to do the conversion. There is always the Ryerson!

The Townsend would be too small it only has a 50 foot beam. The JAW could be lengthened and could even have a greater capacity than the Maumee. Also the S.T. Crapo could be an option if it was in good enough condition. It could be lengthened 200 feet. The JAW would only need to be lengthened 100 feet and even with that would probably have a greater capacity than the Maumee.

Thanks for the info on C.T.C. #1's past!

Laker Mate wrote:I would be stunned if the Maumee was repaired and put back into service. The old girl has been rode hard and is simply wore out. Eventually it simply isn't a good idea to spend money on something like that.

If they need her to haul cargo, she'll be back.

If they need her capacity and versatility enough where they're even contemplating repowering, upgrading, and converting the CTC#1 to eventually take her place, I would think the cost to keep the Maumee going in the interim would be easily jusified.

She also sailed for Cleveland Cliffs in 1979 as the Pioneer. Mike

Sharyl wrote:I finally just went and had a look at C.T.C. #1 in the Photo Gallery here at Boatnerd. I understand that she's now a storage barge, but before she became C.T.C. #1, what vessel was she and/or what is her history?

Storage barge or not, I think she's beautiful!

She was the former Steelton.

I would be stunned if the Maumee was repaired and put back into service. The old girl has been rode hard and is simply wore out. Eventually it simply isn't a good idea to spend money on something like that.

I finally just went and had a look at C.T.C. #1 in the Photo Gallery here at Boatnerd. I understand that she's now a storage barge, but before she became C.T.C. #1, what vessel was she and/or what is her history?

Storage barge or not, I think she's beautiful!

From what I hear from a guy who sailed her for years JAW's needs a lot of plate work, especially the bottom. Maybe a better bet would be the Townsend, though small she is already a diesel. it would seem that the cost would be more having to convert a cement boat, as they would have to take out all the cement unloading eqp to do the conversion. There is always the Ryerson!

She is presently in Lake Erie cleaning out her holds before heading back in for layup.

If LLT did buy her, would they convert her to a self unloader?

It's ironic. So many fine boats gone and now there appears to be a need for their size. Maybe they'll start looking at the Mather and the Boyer.

Probably look a lot like Manistee or Missisagi

Norskellunge wrote:I'm sure the name would change, but for the sake of looks...

Excellent! I'm excited to see her sail the lakes again.

She's now about 16.7 miles north of Cleveland and appears to be adrift or at anchor. Probably doing cleaning before heading to the winter dock.

I see that the Maumee is now out in the middle of Lake Erie and looks to be heading east, where's her next stop?