We have a variety of freighters here today, from Andrea Guerriero over at DRE Designs – Great Lakes Marine Products. She starts us off with the Edgar B. Speer in Sault Ste. Marie. Next is a straight on bow shot of the Paul R. Tregurtha with the Tower of History and the Museum Ship Valley Camp over on the left of the photo. Third in line is the Joseph L. Block, looking sharp in the afternoon sun, all sparkly and new, since she was freshly painted during the off-season time.

Andrea’s fourth photo is again the Edgar B. Speer in the evening light as she approaches the Poe Lock. The sun had just gone down below the horizon, but still enough light to catch the gorgeous colors in the sky and the big ship. Check out the churning waters behind the boat as the Speer moves forward. And last but not least, we see the American Spirit crossing paths with the Edgar B. Speer in the Harbor at Sault Ste. Marie. Both boats have their deck lights on and the Cloverland Electric Cooperative is lit in the background, making for a cool evening shot.

To top it all off, Andrea also shares a video of the James R. Barker as it was downbound at Mission Point in the Soo. Make sure you have your volume turned UP so you can hear their salute!

Love the big ships ... or is it "big boats"?

I can never say we had a bad vacation at the Soo!

John, I'm pretty sure they're boats
(freighters) because I've always heard
then called ore boats, not ore ships.

These pictures are terrific. We tried
to get to the Soo last year but
something always came up. Hopefully we
can get there this year. I swear,
since retiring, I don't know how we
ever found time to go to work.

Forgot to say how cool it was to hear
the salute. I could neve tire of that.
We spent a lot of time in Duluth when
we lived in Minnesota. We just loved
watching the freighters come in and
out of the harbor.

Nice set no matter what
you call them!
Although I’m sure there
is a correct name and
I bet EddyFitz would
know. Rest his soul.

Hi
I think in the larger world these big vessels
would be called ships but in the Great Lakes more
people call them boats. Although ship is also used
(shipping lane, shipwreck, the Museum Ship Valley
Camp). I agree with Alex, nice to see them
whatever you call them.

I liked seeing the size difference between the
American Spirit and the Edgar B. Speer. And I like
that all of these freighters still have their own
engines, instead of having a big tugboat pushing
from the rear.

Great looking pics, love the freighters!! Actually,
the Spirit and the Speer are exactly the same size
and cargo capacity. I think they look different
because one is loaded, and the other is empty and
sitting higher in the water and closer in the pic.
These 1004 ft big boys are a joy to see regardless
of size. Whenever I was doing an overnight in the
Soo calling on War Memorial Hospital, I always spent
a couple hours watching them go through the Locks.
Always fascinating for sure.

You're right U.C. about the length and beam of each being the same, but the Edgar Speer's gross capacity is about 20% greater.

Wouldn't it be great to score a ride on one, as a guest?

It was 48 years ago, I was lucky enough to have it happen to me. I have fond memories from when I worked on the Canadian Enterprise (later the Algoma Enterprise). I was a contractor, tasked with fixing the 11 story passenger elevator my company installed. The accommodations were great, especially the food. I was saddened when I heard it was scrapped out in 2021.

Edgar B Speer is 75K tons

American Spirit is 80K tons

I must have swapped them.

Hey UC,
I wasn't trying to get all picky on you.

It's just that I'm fascinated with the engineering of the Lakers. There are certain outside dimensions, of course governed by the locks; and there are other inside dimensions and design factors that have seen all sorts of variation. And then there's the seasonal regulations based on Lake levels.