Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Scanner, v. 33, no. 4 (January 2001), p. 7

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7. Ship of the Month - cont'd. PELEE was launched, the event being watched by a large number of people from the town and the surrounding country. The boat slipped from the ways at three o'clock and as it did so it was christened by Miss Jenette Smith, daughter of Mr. James Smith, manager of the Collingwood Shipbuilding Co. (PELEE was the yard's Hull No. 41 - Ed. ) "The PELEE, which was built to the order of the Windsor & Pelee Island Navi­ gation (sic) Co., is constructed of steel especially for the passenger and package freight business between Pelee Island and the mainland ports. It is built according to the design and under the supervision of Mr. Hugh Calder­ wood, the well-known marine architect, of Barrie and Toronto. "The dimensions are length 146 ft., beam 24 ft., and moulded depth to pro­ menade deck 18 ft. 3 inches. The propelling machinery consists of a set of triple expansion jet condensing engines supplied with steam from one Scotch marine boiler, and the whole is designed to give the vessel a speed of about thirteen miles per hour when loaded. The vessel will be delivered to the ow­ ners at the opening of navigation in 1914, and will go into commission at once. " The coming of the new steamer had first been reported by "Canadian Railway & Marine World" in its issue of September 1913. That brief article referred incorrectly to the owner as "The Pelee Transportation Co. ". The 1914 Dominion "List of Shipping" showed that PELEE was enrolled at Am­ herstburg as C. 130388, her registered owner being the Windsor & Pelee Island Steamship Co. Ltd., Pelee Island. She was listed as 146. 0 feet in length, 24.1 feet in the beam, and 9. 9 feet in depth, with tonnage calculated as 538 Gross and 243 Net. Other sources, such as the 1922 Great Lakes Department register of the American Bureau of Shipping, recorded her dimensions as 137'0" x 24'0" x 11 '3". Her hull was shown to have four watertight bulkheads. This same source confirms details of PELEE's machinery. She was powered by a triple expansion engine built for her in 1914 by the Collingwood shipyard. It had cylinders of 12 1/2, 21 and 34 inches bore and a stroke of 21 inches, which produced 500 Indicated Horsepower at 145 revolutions per minute. Steam at a working pressure of 185 p. s. i. was generated by one single-ended, coal- fired Scotch boiler, likewise built new for PELEE by the shipyard. It was 12'6" in diameter and 11'0" in length, and had two furnaces with total grate surface of 50 square feet, and heating surface of 1, 865 square feet. A small donkey boiler was fitted for use in port when the main boiler was being cleaned. A description of PELEE was carried in the "Amherstburg Echo" of April 24, 1914. "The vessel is built of steel to the highest class in the Great Lakes Register and has a complete steel main deck all fore and aft for the stowage of package freight, with four large gangway doors and two lumber doors at (both) sides, the two forward doors (one on each side) being suitable to ship automobiles if necessary. There is accommodation in the after end of this deck for engineers, steward and purser, with lavatories and shower baths. The crew are berthed on a lower deck at the forward end of the vessel. "There is a promenade deck above the main deck extending the full length of the vessel, with a large deckhouse of about 100 feet in length, the forward part of which forms a commodious saloon with ample seating accommodation, the after end having a large dining saloon with galley and pantry adjoining. The vessel can comfortably accommodate 500 passengers. "There is a boat deck over the saloon deck house extending to the stern, forming a shelter for passengers on the promenade deck, and carrying life­ boats fully equipped conforming to the Canadian Government inspection laws. "At the forward end of the boat deck there is a house for the accommodation of captain and mate, and two spare staterooms, also a wheelhouse containing steam steering gear. The vessel is heated throughout by steam, with wall ra-

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