41°30′16″N81°43′21″W / 41.50444°N 81.72250°W /41.50444; -81.72250
 104 before she sank | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg) United States | |
| Name | 104 |
| Namesake | Her hull number |
| Owner | American Steel Barge Company ofBuffalo, New York |
| Port of registry | Buffalo, New York, United States |
| Builder | American Steel Barge Company ofDuluth, Minnesota |
| Yard number | 104 |
| Laid down | October 23, 1889 |
| Launched | February 6, 1890 |
| In service | April 21, 1890 |
| Out of service | November 10, 1898 |
| Identification | Registry number US 53257 |
| Fate | Sank onLake Erie after striking the West Breakwater inCleveland, Ohio |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Whaleback barge |
| Tonnage |
|
| Length | |
| Beam | 36.1 feet (11.0 m) |
| Depth | 18.9 feet (5.8 m) |
| Propulsion | Towed by a steamship |
| Capacity | 3,300 tons |
| Crew | 7 |
104 (also known asBarge 104,[1] orNo.104[2]) was an Americanwhaleback barge in service between 1890 and 1898. The fourth whaleback constructed, she was built between October 1889 and February 1890, inDuluth, Minnesota byAlexander McDougall'sAmerican Steel Barge Company, for McDougall's fleet of the same name, based inBuffalo, New York. She was a whaleback, a class of distinctive, experimental ship designed and built by McDougall. The whalebacks were designed to be more stable in high seas. They had rounded decks, and lacked the normal straight sides seen on traditionallake freighters.104 entered service on April 21, haulingiron ore fromTwo Harbors, Minnesota.
On November 10, 1898, while being towed out of Cleveland harbour with a cargo ofcoal bound for Duluth, she broke away from the tugAlva B.104 crashed into Cleveland's westbreakwater. She sank quickly, with her crew being rescued by the ClevelandUnited States Life-Saving Service.104 was a total loss, becoming the first whaleback to be lost on theGreat Lakes.
104 was a whaleback, an innovative but not widely accepted ship design of the late 1880s, designed byAlexander McDougall. AScottishimmigrant, Great Lakescaptain, inventor[3] and entrepreneur, McDougall developed the idea of the whaleback as a way to improve the ability ofbarges to follow a towing vessel in heavy seas.[4] Whalebacks were characterized by distinctivehull shapes with rounded tops, lacking conventional vertical sides, andconoidal ends.[5] Their rounded hulls enabled water to easily slide off their decks, minimising friction, and letting them sail quickly and smoothly through the water.[4] Their superstructure was located onturrets mounted on the main deck.[5] The rounded contours of whalebacks gave them an unconventional appearance,[4] and McDougall's ship and barge designs were received with considerable skepticism, resistance, and derision.[4][6] As they had porcine-looking snouts for bows, some observers called them "pig boats".[6][7]
After McDougall was unable to persuade existing shipbuilders to try his designs, he founded the American Steel Barge Company inSuperior, Wisconsin in 1888, and built them himself. McDougall actively promoted his design and company by sending the steamerCharles W. Wetmore toLondon, and starting another shipyard inEverett, Washington, which built the steamerCity of Everett.[8] Despite McDougall's further efforts to promote the design with theexcursion linerChristopher Columbus, whalebacks never caught on, with only 44 of them being built.[3][4][9]
104 (also known asBarge 104,[1] orNo.104[2]) was constructed between October 1889 and February 1890[11] inDuluth, Minnesota by theAmerican Steel Barge Company.[12] Her first hull frames were laid down on October 23, 1889.[11]104 was launched on February 6, 1890,[1][11][13] becoming the fourth whaleback built by Alexander McDougall's company.[1]104 was identical to105 and107, launched in April 1890 in Duluth,[14][15] and August 1890 inSuperior, Wisconsin, respectively.[16][17] She had anoverall length of 288 feet (87.8 m) (length between perpendiculars of 276.5 feet (84.3 m) or 276 feet (84.1 m)).[11][18][12] Her hull was 36.1 feet (11.0 m) (or 36 feet (11.0 m)[11][18]) wide,[12] and 18.9 feet (5.8 m) (or 19 feet (5.8 m)[18]) deep.104 had agross tonnage of 1,295 (or 1,295.44, tons[19]) tons, and anet tonnage of 1,230 (some sources state 1,230.69,[19] or 1,231[18]) tons. She had a cargo carrying capacity of 3,300 tons.[19]104 was an unriggedbarge, and was towed by a steam-powered ship.[18]
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104 was built by theAmerican Steel Barge Company for the fleet of the same name based inBuffalo, New York.[11][12] She wasenrolled inDuluth, Minnesota, on April 12, 1890, and was given the US official number #53257.[11][12] Her home port was Buffalo.104 entered service on April 21, carryingiron ore fromTwo Harbors, Minnesota.[11] In 1895, management of the American Steel Barge Company fleet was taken over byPickands Mather & Company ofCleveland, Ohio.[20]
On April 24, 1896, while upbound, in tow of the whaleback freighterA.D. Thompson in theDetroit River near acoal dock inDetroit, Michigan,104 was struck amidships, near thewaterline by the wooden bulk freighterPhilip Minch.[21]A.D. Thompson and104 proceeded up the Detroit River, as104 did not immediately begin to fill with water, and her pumps kept her dry.[21] However, as the two vessels enteredLake St. Clair,104's pumps could no longer keep up with the influx of water, causing her to sink into 16 feet (4.9 m) (or 17 feet (5.2 m)[19]) of water.[21] Thewrecking tugSaginaw, equipped with a steam pump, was immediately dispatched to pump104 dry.[21]
On June 8, 1896,104 and the whaleback barge134 broke away from the whaleback freighterJames B. Colgate in a storm. As neither of them had enough time to drop anchors in order to avoid grounding, both of them ran aground onChequamegon Point.[2]104 and134 were found to be aground in 2 feet (0.6 m) of water, embedded in sand and intact.[2] They were released byJames B. Colgate and the tugsB.B. Inman andJ.W. Ward.[2][22][23]
Late in the evening on November 10, 1898,104, with 7 crewmen on board,[12][18] was being towed out ofCleveland harbour by the tugAlva B. in a heavy storm. She was loaded with a cargo ofcoal bound forDuluth, Minnesota.[1][18] Due to the heavy seas,104 broke away fromAlva B., and crashed into Cleveland's west breakwater, approximately 0.5 miles (0.8 km) northwest of the ClevelandUnited States Life-Saving Service.[1][12] After pounding against the breakwater,104 rapidly sank.[18][24] Cleveland United States Life-Saving Service were notified of104's situation, arriving at the scene with alifeboat.[1] The poor weather prevented the rescuers fromthrowing a line to104.[1] Instead, they maneuvered their life boat inside the breakwater. Using ropes andheaving sticks, the rescuers managed to remove104's crew, and put them on the breakwater.[1] There were no injuries, or loss of life in the wreck.[1][12]104's enrollment surrendered on January 14, 1899, inBuffalo, New York.[11][12] An article published on November 14, inThe Times Herald ofPort Huron, Michigan reported that104 had already broken up.[24] She was a total loss, becoming the first whaleback to be lost on theGreat Lakes.[9][A]
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1898 | |
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