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Hull 1173 - aka ‘Stubby’ - enroute to Erie, PA. (Courtesy Bethlehem Steel Corp.) power, “Stubby” - officially known as Hull 1173 - sailed to the Great Lakes by way of the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Painted on its side were the instructions “cut here,” and a dotted line which marked the place to separate the two halves, which eventually became mated to the 818-foot midsection under construction at Erie Marine in Erie, PA. By 1971,a completed vessel was taking shape in Erie, with several notable innovations. The Stewart J. Cort would retain the classic laker appearance, with pilothouse forward and engines aft, but the vessel would employ the newest self- unloading technology. A short shuttle boom, housed at the stern behind the power plant and stacks, would remain enclosed except when loading or unloading. With the boom out of the way, the loading operation would be made easier than on other self-unloaders where the boom is housed on deck. The deck crew’s work was made even easier on the Cort thanks to its one-of-a-kind hatch covers. The hatches were only 20-feet by 11-feet, 6-inches in size; since the vessel would load only at conveyor- equipped docks, larger hatches were unnecessary. To open the hatches, a button was pushed and the hinged covers flipped open on their backs. For maneuverability, dual bow and stern thrusters were included in an age when many vessels lacked thrusters entirely. The Cort’s four General Motors EMD Diesel engines produced 14,000 horsepower, the most of any Great Lakes vessel at that time, enough to give the huge vessel a competitive speed. Despite the vessel's size and power, during her sea trials she was able to go from a speed of over 16 miles per hour to a stop in just 3,200 feet, an impressive feat for any Great Lakes vessel. Cort’s maiden voyage began on May 1, 1972, when she sailed from Erie for Taconite Harbor, MN., to load her first cargo. The Cort’s size - 1,000-feet long, 105- feet wide, and 49-feet deep — obliterated the previous record for dimensions of any Great Lakes vessel. Her first cargo of 49,343 gross tons of taconite pellets broke the 6 KYS 2002