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MICHIPICOTEN as T he announcement last spring by the Interlake Steamship Co. that it had sold its idle self-unloader Elton Hoyt 2nd to Canada’s Lower Lakes Towing came with little fanfare, a description that might fit much of this 52-year- old lake boat's career. The 1952 Lake Carriers’ Association annual report even fails to highlight the Hoyt’s construction, giving it only a casua mention. In addition, the boat's lines have always been largely utilitarian, lacking the style found in the likes of the ee Sykes and others of he same time period, petheps contributing to the lack of attention paid to the new vessel. The early 1950s was a time of rapid new-ship construction on the Great Lakes. Even now there are more Great Lakes ships around that were built new or reconstructed in 1952 than in any other year. The 1951-'52 period found the United States at the height of the Korean War, and demand for iron ore resulted in the need for new vessels. Great Lakes shipyards were already backlogged with orders well into 1953, so Bethlehem Steel Co. turned to its own yard in Sparrows Point, Md., to help. In 1951, plans were produced for three new straight-deck bulk carriers. Since they would need to be towed down the East Coast and across the Gulf of Mexico, then up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers and into the Great Lakes, length was a factor. At just 626.6’ -long, these new carriers would not be even close to the size of the longest Great Lakes ships of the time. Since bridge heights on the Illinois River restricted the height of vessels, superstructures Elton Hoyt 2nd on launch day, 1952. (Courtesy Jim Luke) arrived in Chicago for final assembly. The first of the trio = = of hulls was Elton Hoyt 2nd in the St. Marys River in 1998. (Roger LeLievre) launched at > 4 KYS ‘04