Just had to resurrect one of the Edmund Fitzgerald posts on this day.
Edmund Fitzgerald Stats
> Her normal duties were to transport processed iron ore taconite pellets from Superior, Wisconsin to Detroit. Iron ore taconite is a low grade processed iron that is melted down into steel for steel making purposes in places such as Detroit, Michigan, Gary, Indiana, Cleveland, Ohio and other port towns on the Lakes.
> A round trip usually took 5 days for the Fitzgerald to complete.
> On average, the Fitzgerald would make 45-50 trips a season (including other trips she may take that differ from her normal duties)
> She completed a total of 748 trips, taking millions of miles. It is estimated that she carried over 19 million tons of taconite during her career.
> It took 4 and a half hours to load and typically 12-14 hours to unload.
> Length: 729ft (longest ship to sail the Lakes until 1959 (730-foot Murray Bay)
> Draft: 25ft
> Depth: 39ft
> Speed: 14kt (16 mph)
> Cargo holds: 3 central holds via 21 (11x54ft) topside cargo hatches covered by 5/16" solid steel hatch covers, secured with 68 Kestler Clamps (per cover)
> Power: originally built as a coal-fired steam turbine until a refit in 1971/1972 to oil fuel with automated boiler controls.