These are the 13 Walk the Deck of a 1,000 Footer markers at Soo Locks Park in Sault Ste. Marie, which you can then map to view the length of a footer.
How big is a 1,000-foot-long boat?
Imagine yourself standing at the stern of one of these boats.
Following the arrows walk from the stern to bow and learn more about each of the thirteen footers operating on the Great Lakes along the way. — — Map (db m224384) HM
How do they steer those boats?
From several stories above the water the captain has a bird's-eye view of the deck but relies on
constant reports from mates at the bow and stern to know the exact position of the vessel when
operating in close . . . — — Map (db m255225) HM
Do they live on board?
Crew size on Great Lakes freighters averages around 22 people who live and work on board for
several weeks at a time. The crew enjoy excellent food, private quarters, air conditioning and have
access to Wi-Fi and . . . — — Map (db m255223) HM
How much can they carry?
Depending on the design of their cargo holds and unloading gear, footers can carry between
58,000 and 80,900 tons in a single load. It would take up to 3,000 semi trucks or 700 rail cars to carry that same load! — — Map (db m255221) HM
How do they unload?
All footers on the Great Lakes are self-unloaders with conveyor belt systems below the cargo
holds. The belts carry materials to the deck where they are unloaded off the side using either
deck-mounted booms or shuttle . . . — — Map (db m255227) HM
Do they rub the lock walls?
The Poe Lock is 1,200 feet long and 110 feet wide. Every footer is 105 feet wide. When entering the
lock captains like to come in tight to the north wall while keeping as much space open on the other
side as . . . — — Map (db m255229) HM
Halfway there!
You have now made it approximately halfway. Think of how far you have already walked and imagine being a deckhand responsible for painting or shoveling the deck of a boat 1,000 feet long and 105 feet wide! — — Map (db m224380) HM
Do they sail year-round?
Boats depend on the Soo Locks to travel between ports on Lake Superior and the lower lakes. Each
year when the locks close January 15, footers head to ports and shipyards around the lakes for
maintenance before the . . . — — Map (db m255232) HM
A 1,000-foot-long tug boat?
The Presque Isle is the only integrated tug/barge footer. It was designed to operate with the smaller crew of a tug boat and the cargo capacity of a footer. After sea trials, the U.S. Coast Guard determined the . . . — — Map (db m224378) HM
Do they lock through often?
Footers make regular runs between loading docks on Lake Superior and the harbors large enough to serve them on the lower lakes. Most are through the locks about every three days, carrying millions of tons of iron ore . . . — — Map (db m224382) HM
Do they go to the Atlantic Ocean?
Footers cannot go beyond Lake Erie and Lake Michigan. The locks in the Welland Canal, bypassing Niagara Falls to connect Lakes Erie and Ontario, cannot take vessels over 740 feet long and 78 feet wide. Locks . . . — — Map (db m224379) HM
Why does only one have a forward pilothouse?
The first footer, the Cort, is the only one with a forward pilothouse. The twelve footers that followed placed all accommodations and the pilot house at the stern saving hundreds of thousands of . . . — — Map (db m224381) HM
You reached the bow!
It's a long way from the bow to the stern of the thirteen-footers on the Great Lakes. The Paul R. Tregurtha is the biggest of them all, giving her the title Queen of the Great Lakes. — — Map (db m224373) HM
