SS Augustus B. Wolvin

Augustus B. Wolvin was a 560 ft (170 m) long Great Lakes freighter that had a 63-year career on the Great Lakes. Augustus B. Wolvin was a product of the American Shipbuilding Company of Cleveland, Ohio. She was built for the Acme Steamship Company of Duluth, Minnesota.

Augustus B. Wolvin in Poe Lock
History
 United States
Name: Augustus B. Wolvin
Namesake:
Operator:
  • Acme Steamship Company 1904–1913
  • Lackawanna Steamship Company 1904–1966
  • Labrador Steamship Company 1966–1967
Port of registry: Duluth, Minnesota
Builder: American Shipbuilding Company, Cleveland, Ohio
Yard number: 330
Launched: April 9, 1904
In service: 1904
Identification: U.S. Registry #200883
Fate: Scrapped in 1967, in Santander, Spain
Notes: Augustus B. Wolvin was the first vessel to have telescoping steel hatch covers
General characteristics
Tonnage:
Length: 560 ft (170 m)
Beam: 56 ft (17 m)
Depth: 32 ft (9.8 m)
Installed power: 2 x Scotch marine boilers
Propulsion: 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) quadruple expansion steam engine

She was launched as hull #330 on April 9, 1904.[1] At the time of her launch her nickname was "Yellow Kid".[2] She was powered by a quadruple expansion steam engine attached to a single fixed pitch propeller and fueled by two coal-fired scotch marine boilers. At the time of her launch Augustus B. Wolvin was the longest vessel operating on the Great Lakes (hence the unofficial title "Queen of the Lakes"), she was also the first vessel that had telescoping steel hatch covers which replaced the old wooden hatch covers.[3]

She was also the first lake freighter built without vertical support beams in her holds.[4] This innovation allowed for faster, more automated, loading and unloading.

In 1913 the fleet owned by Acme Steamship Company was sold to the Lackawanna Steamship Company of Cleveland, Ohio (managed by Pickands Mather & Company). The fleet was later purchased by Interlake Steamship Company. In 1946 Augustus B. Wolvin had her telescoping hatch covers replaced with new single piece steel hatch covers (the space between the hatch covers was 24 feet (7.3 m) feet) and a new hatch crane. This rebuild was done by the Great Lakes Engineering Works of Ecorse, Michigan. In 1966 the ship was sold to the Canadian Labrador Steamship Company of Montreal, Quebec.[5]

Scrapping

In June 1967 Augustus B. Wolvin ran aground in the Welland Canal and suffered severe bottom damage.[6] Eventually she was declared a total loss at Port Weller and towed to Hamilton, Ontario. She was sold to the Marine Salvage Inc. of Port Colborne, Ontario. She was resold to a Spanish shipbreaker and towed down the St. Lawrence Seaway in August 1967. She arrived in Santander, Spain on September 24, 1967 along with Saskadoc.[7]

References
  1. "Augustus B. Wolvin (Propeller), U200883, 1 Mar 1904". Maritime History of the Great Lakes. 1904-03-01. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
  2. "Wolvin, Augustus B." Bowling Green State University. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  3. Thompson, Mark (1994). Queen of the Lakes. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0814323936. Retrieved 16 February 2018., 89-94.
  4. Brian Ferguson (August 2011). "Great Lakes Fleet Page Vessel Feature -- E. M. Ford". boatnerd. Retrieved 2018-01-06. A revolution soon hit the lakes as Acme Steamship's Augustus B. Wolvin took to the waters off Lorain, Ohio in 1904. She was the first lake bulk carrier built with arch construction. This style of construction eliminated the need for vertical hold stanchions, which also made a increase in a vessels cargo capacity and made unloading easier. Without the vertical beams down the center of the cargo holds, clam shell buckets, and Huletts could unload a ships cargo faster, and with less damage.
  5. "Wolvin, Augustus B." Great Lakes Vessel History. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  6. "Today in Great Lakes History - June 6". boatnerd. Retrieved 2018-01-06. AUGUSTUS B. WOLVIN struck the bank of the Welland Canal and grounded. A subsequent survey of the damage at Port Weller Dry Docks revealed it was not worth the cost of repairs and the ship was laid up and sold for scrap.
  7. Skip Gillham. "Lookback #349 – William E. Reis sank via collision in the St. Clair River on Nov. 1, 1907". boatnerd. Retrieved 2018-01-06. Following a sale to Spanish shipbreakers, Saskadoc was towed down the Seaway on Aug. 19, 1967, and headed overseas Sept. 2. The ship arrived at Santander, Spain, for scrapping, along with the Augustus B. Wolvin, on Sept. 24 under tow of the Polish tug Jantar.
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