Question about freighters

[12poundbass]

One of the freighters we recently saw go through the Soo Locks was 1000’ long and had a draft of 37.5’. I’ve been tracking it using an app I have and it just left Cleveland on it way to Deluth. It goes through Lake St Clair which I know is a shallow lake. I looked up the depth of the shipping channel of St Clair and it says it’s 27’ deep.

 

So we have a lake with a depth of 27’ and a ship that goes through with a draft of 37.5’. What am I missing here? 

[TnRiver46]

5 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

One of the freighters we recently saw go through the Soo Locks was 1000’ long and had a draft of 37.5’. I’ve been tracking it using an app I have and it just left Cleveland on it way to Deluth. It goes through Lake St Clair which I know is a shallow lake. I looked up the depth of the shipping channel of St Clair and it says it’s 27’ deep.

 

So we have a lake with a depth of 27’ and a ship that goes through with a draft of 37.5’. What am I missing here? 

It’s aliens 

[slonezp]

Ballast. A ship can pump in and out ballast water as needed.

[throttleplate]

          Best to ask the captain of the Exxon Valdez.

[slonezp]

Just now, throttleplate said:

          Best to ask the captain of the Exxon Valdez.

When he's sober...

[12poundbass]

9 minutes ago, slonezp said:

Ballast. A ship can pump in and out ballast water as needed.

I understand ballast. My numbers were a bit off. So midsummer draft is 34.5’. From what I’ve read that’s fully loaded.
 

So are you saying fully loaded it could release ballast decreasing the draft as it goes through St Clair? 

[throttleplate]

18 minutes ago, slonezp said:

Ballast. A ship can pump in and out ballast water as needed.

 

Ever wonder what a guy could catch fishing inside the ballast holds of a giant ship? didnt think so.

[slonezp]

2 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

I understand ballast. My numbers were a bit off. So midsummer draft is 34.5’. From what I’ve read that’s fully loaded.
 

So are you saying fully loaded it could release ballast decreasing the draft as it goes through St Clair? 

@A-Jay might be a better judge BUT my answer remains yes. I'm guessing the 37' is at max capacity and max ballast. Every boat has a sweet spot. The freighter will run at 27' draft, albeit not ideal, when it has to. 

8 minutes ago, throttleplate said:

 

Ever wonder what a guy could catch fishing inside the ballast holds of a giant ship? didnt think so.

Goby's LOL

[Deleted account]

Draft listed for ships is maximum draft, unlike boats, it can vary by many feet depending on load and ballast. 

11 hours ago, throttleplate said:

 

Ever wonder what a guy could catch fishing inside the ballast holds of a giant ship? didnt think so.

European green crabs...

[throttleplate]

14 hours ago, slonezp said:

Goby's LOL

 

Met a kid fishing on our Green Way Wisc. stay, fishing off of a dock up on Sturgeon bay on lake Michigan.

He was catching gobies while panfishing and told me they are an invasive species and he then wound up and tossed one onto the boat ramp saying everybody fishing hates them and they dont make good bait.

Is that true for that area that they are not a good bait fish to rig up?

 

 

[gim]

39 minutes ago, throttleplate said:

Is that true for that area that they are not a good bait fish to rig up?

 

That would depend on what state you are in.  Here in MN that would not be considered legal.  I don't know about Wisconsin or Michigan.

 

People love to paint gobies as a terrible invasive species but they aren't nearly as bad as some say they are (like the kid fishing off the pier you talked to).  Gobies are a major source of food in the Great Lakes, including smallmouth bass.

 

Zebra Mussels and Sea Lampreys have caused WAY more damage to our fisheries than gobies.  Sea Lampreys almost completely wiped out the salmonid population in the Great Lakes.  Luckily we figured out how to control them.  Both of them came in on large shipping vessels through the Great Lakes.  These ships come in from other parts of the world with water (and whatever is in them) and then dump it out once they get here.

[Captain Phil]

Maybe some of you folks on the great lakes could answer a question for me?  When I was a kid in the fifties, we were lead to believe the great lakes were some of the most polluted lakes on Earth. Stories were told of lampreys wiping out the trout and rivers catching fire.  I imagined the water looked like a waste dump.  About ten years ago, a few friends and I rented a house on an Island in Lake Erie.  We did this two years in a row.   Not only was the lake as clear as the Florida Keys, but the fishing was fantastic.  We caught SM bass up to 6 pounds and some huge walleyes.   We were told we should not use gobies for bait.  The tube jigs we used looked just like them.  As we fished, huge ships would come by.  What changed?

[slonezp]

1 hour ago, throttleplate said:

 

Met a kid fishing on our Green Way Wisc. stay, fishing off of a dock up on Sturgeon bay on lake Michigan.

He was catching gobies while panfishing and told me they are an invasive species and he then wound up and tossed one onto the boat ramp saying everybody fishing hates them and they dont make good bait.

Is that true for that area that they are not a good bait fish to rig up?

 

 

It is unlawful to possess live gobys.

[J._Bricker]

18 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

Maybe some of you folks on the great lakes could answer a question for me?  When I was a kid in the fifties, we were lead to believe the great lakes were some of the most polluted lakes on Earth. Stories were told of lampreys wiping out the trout and rivers catching fire.  I imagined the water looked like a waste dump.  About ten years ago, a few friends and I rented a house on an Island in Lake Erie.  We did this two years in a row.   Not only was the lake as clear as the Florida Keys, but the fishing was fantastic.  We caught SM bass up to 6 pounds and some huge walleyes.   We were told we should not use gobies for bait.  The tube jigs we used looked just like them.  As we fished, huge ships would come by.  What changed?

I’m gonna go with quagga and zebra mussels @Captain Phil, which allowed the Smallies to sight feed much more efficiently. 

[gim]

22 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

What changed?

 

A lot of septic systems have been upgraded in the Great Lakes region, which reduced the amount of pollution entering.  I am not really familiar with Lake Erie itself but I believe that since its the shallowest, warmest, and most fertile of the Great Lakes, it has a very high carrying capacity in terms of aquatic life.  The walleyes and smallmouth you speak of are abundant and can grow bigger, faster.

 

Differently, Lake Superior is a larger, colder, deeper lake.  The water never really warms up.  Fish like lake trout and salmonids are more common than the warmer species you might see in Lake Erie, and it takes a long time for them to grow.

 

As far as the sea lampreys wiping out trout and salmonids, that did occur.  Scientists figured out how to control them though and the trout rebounded.

[Choporoz]

40 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

Maybe some of you folks on the great lakes could answer a question for me?  When I was a kid in the fifties, we were lead to believe the great lakes were some of the most polluted lakes on Earth. Stories were told of lampreys wiping out the trout and rivers catching fire.  I imagined the water looked like a waste dump.  About ten years ago, a few friends and I rented a house on an Island in Lake Erie.  We did this two years in a row.   Not only was the lake as clear as the Florida Keys, but the fishing was fantastic.  We caught SM bass up to 6 pounds and some huge walleyes.   We were told we should not use gobies for bait.  The tube jigs we used looked just like them.  As we fished, huge ships would come by.  What changed?

I remember when Erie caught fire.    I believe the Clean Water Act wasn't too long after. @gimruisis correct that cities and counties got a lot more responsible.   I grew up in Milwaukee - I was in High School when Illinois sued Milwaukee and as a result, they built a massive tunnel system underground so wastewater didn't backup into Lake Michigan every time it drizzled.  I'm sure all the bih cities around the Great Lakes made similar investments. 

[Captain Phil]

Fishing in Lake Erie was a real eyeopener.  I knew there were big walleyes in that lake, but I didn't expect the numbers and size of the SM bass.   The area we fished was around Pelee Island on the Canadian side.  The week we fish was around the 4th of July.   We fished the glacier grooves in about 10-20 feet of water using weighted tube jigs in brown, purple and green flake.  Together, we must have caught 30 or more bass a day.  Most were 3-4 pounds with a few over six. That is one amazing fishery. 

 

A similar thing has happened here on the Harris Chain.  By the nineties, these lakes had fallen on hard times.   Back pumping from farms on Lake Apopka, highway and septic tank run off caused algae blooms.  Hydrilla took hold and over spraying killed off all the water plants.  In 1997, B.A.S.S. held a tournament that set a record for the lowest tournament weight.   In response the State bought out the farms, built retention ponds and regulated new construction.  Now our lakes have great bass fishing.  There's hope.  ☺️

[gim]

17 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

That is one amazing fishery. 

The far western basin near Toledo, OH still experiences massive algae blooms at certain times of year because of pollutants entering the lake.  Should be anytime here...

[Dwight Hottle]

54 minutes ago, J._Bricker said:

I’m gonna go with quagga and zebra mussels @Captain Phil, which allowed the Smallies to sight feed much more efficiently. 

This is correct. 

 

55 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

A lot of septic systems have been upgraded in the Great Lakes region, which reduced the amount of pollution entering.  I am not really familiar with Lake Erie itself but I believe that since its the shallowest, warmest, and most fertile of the Great Lakes, it has a very high carrying capacity in terms of aquatic life.  The walleyes and smallmouth you speak of are abundant and can grow bigger, faster.

 

Differently, Lake Superior is a larger, colder, deeper lake.  The water never really warms up.  Fish like lake trout and salmonids are more common than the warmer species you might see in Lake Erie, and it takes a long time for them to grow.

 

As far as the sea lampreys wiping out trout and salmonids, that did occur.  Scientists figured out how to control them though and the trout rebounded.

 

Also correct.

36 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

I remember when Erie caught fire.    I believe the Clean Water Act wasn't too long after. @gimruisis correct that cities and counties got a lot more responsible.   I grew up in Milwaukee - I was in High School when Illinois sued Milwaukee and as a result, they built a massive tunnel system underground so wastewater didn't backup into Lake Michigan every time it drizzled.  I'm sure all the bih cities around the Great Lakes made similar investments. 

Correct. You guys have collectively nailed it. I was born in NE Ohio & spent my life there until moving to Erie PA in 2007. The Cuyahoga Falls river (in Cleveland) caught on fire back in June of 1969. That was a slap in the face for the State of Ohio & woke up people in other Erie surrounding states regarding the industrial run off, municipal sewage farm/residential fertilizer entering Erie & other great lakes. Remember the Love canal story in Niagara Falls in the early 1970's? As legislation & consumer concerns started to get a foot hold the Erie waters slowly started to improve. The introduction of the invasive zebra & quagga mussels from European freighter's ballast water greatly helped clear the waters. All sight predator populations increased accordingly with the muskies & smallmouth exploding from previous levels. They are not stocked in Erie like the walleyes are. Erie as the shallowest & most fertile of the great lakes is home to over 100 fish species. The great lakes drain from Lake Superior through Lake Michigan & Lake Huron & Lake St Clair into lake Erie then Lake Ontario before entering the St Lawrence & flowing into the Atlantic. 

 

Retention/replacement time of the great lakes in years. 

Lake Superior 191 years

Lake Michigan 99 years

Lake Huron 22 years

Lake Erie 3 years

Lake Ontario 6 years

Retention/replacement time means the amount of time it would take for the lake to get rid of pollutants from water flushing through the system. 

[PhishLI]

4 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

Maybe some of you folks on the great lakes could answer a question for me?  When I was a kid in the fifties, we were lead to believe the great lakes were some of the most polluted lakes on Earth.

You caused me to remember this, and I found it.