Winter Layups

The fleet during its “down time”

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 23, 2018

1. Winter Layups Marker

Inscription. Shipping on the Great Lakes has always been seasonal. The poor visibility, heavy seas and ice that came each year with the gales of November prompted ship owners and captains in the 1800s to "lay up" their ships. Every winter ice choked docks and harbors, preventing vessels from entering or leaving the usually busy ports. Critical navigation buoys were pulled out until the spring thaw.

During the winter layup, sailors drained a ship's plumbing, plugged drains, covered lifeboats and deck equipment, and removed lines and tackle. Shipboard machinery was dismantled, inspected, and repaired. In wooden vessels, crewmen stood on the ice to caulk the hull planking. Sailing vessels required constant maintenance of their miles of rigging. Most "winter work" actually took place in early spring, when the waterfront came alive with the bustle of fitting out for the new season.

Locally owned ships lined Alpena's docks from the 1870s through the early 1900s. Lumber steamers and their tow barges lay on both sides of the Thunder Bay River each winter, while harbor tugs found space among them or in bayfront slips. Pleasure boats were

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pulled out on land. After 1910, the layup fleet was comprised primarily of fishing vessels and private yachts.

Erected by Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Trail.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1910.

Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 45° 3.768′ N, 83° 25.785′ W. Marker was in Alpena, Michigan, in Alpena County. It could be reached from North 1st Avenue north of Water Street when traveling north. Marker is located along the Alpena Bi-Path, at middle of South Riverfront Park, beside the Thunder Bay River, beyond the end of North 1st Avenue. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 205 Water Street, Alpena MI 49707, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in Northern Michigan Lower Peninsula

and in one of the Lake Huron Shore counties. It was also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it was in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically,

Marker detail: Local fleet winters in the Thunder Bay River circa 1895 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Fred Trelfa photo, Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan

2. Marker detail: Local fleet winters in the Thunder Bay River circa 1895

Large Gilchrist Company lumber steamers and their schooner-barges dominate the scene, while two smaller coasting schooners appear in the foreground.

it found itself in what was once the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Winter Layup (here, next to this marker); The Third Ward (within shouting distance of this marker); Nordmeer (within shouting distance of this marker); Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (within shouting distance of this marker); Montana (within shouting distance of this marker); Alpena’s Second Avenue Bridge (about 300 feet away); Welcome to the Alpena Water Level Station (about 300 feet away); Grecian (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Alpena.

Other markers no longer nearby. The Third Ward (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); The Ties That Bind (was about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

More about this marker. Marker is a large composite plaque, mounted waist-high on a metal supporting rack.

Also see . . . Winter Layups Await for Spring. Alpena, Rogers City, Black River, Harrisville and dozens

Marker detail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers map of Thunder Bay River, 1889 image. Click for full size.

Thunder Bay Sanctuary Research Collection

3. Marker detail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers map of Thunder Bay River, 1889

With easy access and deep water, the lower portion of the Thunder Bay River was ideally suited for winter layups. Note an earlier version of the Second Avenue Bridge in this 1889 map.

of similar small coastal communities played host to homeport vessels, as well as any other ship that came to load or unload cargo and was unable to leave the harbor before conditions turned sour. Thunder Bay River alone was often packed with three dozen or more lake craft of all varieties, some rafted together two or three deep for lack of dock space. Lumber schooners, steam barges, bulk and package freighters, harbor tugs, passenger propellers, and of course, a fleet of local fishing vessels could often be seen laid up together like sleeping behemoths. (Submitted on August 18, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Marker detail: Wooden lumber steamers, circa 1890 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Fred Trelfa photo, Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan

4. Marker detail: Wooden lumber steamers, circa 1890

The wooden lumber steamers Stephen C. Hall and Norseman lie peacefully at a north side dock around 1890.

Marker detail: steamers, schooners, and tugs share dock space in the Thunder Bay River image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Fred Trelfa photo, Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan

5. Marker detail: steamers, schooners, and tugs share dock space in the Thunder Bay River

The lumber fleets operated as late as the weather permitted each fall, until the ice finally choked the harbors and docks and brought shipping to a halt.

Winter Layups Marker (<i>wide view looking northeast; Thunder Bay River in background</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 23, 2018

6. Winter Layups Marker (wide view looking northeast; Thunder Bay River in background)

Thunder Bay River (<i>wide view looking northeast from marker</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 23, 2018

7. Thunder Bay River (wide view looking northeast from marker)

Credits. This page was last revised on November 5, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 16, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 479 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on August 18, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 7. submitted on September 4, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.