1958 John Sherwin 2
Steel Great Lakes bulk freighter
Built at Toledo OH by American Ship Building Co., Hull 192
Built in dry dock; floated Nov 2, 1957
710’ LOA, 690’ LBP, 75’ beam, 37’6” depth
1 deck, arch cargo hold construction, hatches @ 24’, coal-fired boilers, steam turbine engine, 8500 SHP
Enrolled at
690.4 x 75.9 x 32.9, 14144 GT, 10555 NT US 276445 to:
Interlake Steamship Co., Cleveland OH, Pickands Mather & Co., Mgr. (home port
Wilmington DE)
Entered service May 3, 1958 clearing Cleveland OH light for Taconite Harbor MN
Lengthened and boilers converted to oil firing 1973 at Superior WI by Fraser Shipyard
Remeasured to 786.4 length and 15995 GT, 12405 NT
Laid up Nov 16, 1981 at Duluth MN. Moved 1982 to Superior WI.
Towed Sept 2006 to South Chicago IL for grain storage use.
Towed Aug 2008 to Sturgeon Bay WI for conversion to self-unloader and repowering with diesel engine by Bay Shipbuilding Co. Conversion and repowering plans put on hold Nov 2008 because of the state of the economy
Towed Oct 2009 to Detour MI for layup
IMO 5174428
Laid up at Detour MI
5801
looking for an update on this classic laker. very sad the condition she’s in.
My father worked in the Cleveland offices of Interlake Steamshio/Pickands-Mather. As a child in the mid to late fifties I remember attending a lavish launch party for one of their ships at the estate of one of the owners in the Chagrin Valley. One of the highlights was a 10 foot radio controlled scale model of the ship that was operated in the large pond behind the mansion. I recall that it may have been the largest freighter on the lakes at that time. Was the Sherwin that ship?
Thanks for any information.
Grandpa was the captain of the the John Serwin .. Raphael Marsden aka Dewey
Grandpa was the captain of the the John Serwin .. Raphael Marsden aka Dewey
My Great Uncle Dew, Captain of the John Sherwin, would blow a salute every time he sailed by the house in Marine City.
Larry Schulte
Cathy,
great memories of your grandfather, my great uncle, as he would salute when going by the house when we lived in Marine City.
Larry Schulte
My father Walter Cowles was the naval architect at the American Ship Building Company. We got to play on the ships when they were being built. He was loaned to Chicago to do the engineering for moving the 505 sub out of the water and to the museum. When I asked him about it he said it was not a big deal and it was jus an engineer math problem. George Steinbrenner took over The ASBC and ran it into the ground fighting unions
Sept 2023 I’ve heard the Sherwin could be out for bids for re power and self unloader.
Would like information on why and specifically whom was the “John Sherwin” was named for.
The John Sherwin was named for the senior partner and managing director of Pickands Mather & Co. in Cleveland Ohio. He later became president of PM. PM owned Interlake Steamship until 1986 when PM merged with Cleveland-Cliffs and Interlake was spun off as a separate company. I worked for PM and Cliffs and knew Mr. Sherwin.
https://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/sherwin.htm