1924 Benson Ford 1 1986
Steel Great Lakes bulk freighter
Built at Ecorse MI by Great Lakes Engineering Works, Hull 245
Keel laid Nov 26, 1923; lLaunched April 26, 1924
612’ LOA, 586’ LBP, 62’ beam, 32’ depth
1 deck, arch cargo hold construction, hatches @ 24’, oil-fired diesel engine, 3350 bhp
With Henry Ford II had the first diesel engines on major Great Lakes vessels
Enrolled at
596.7 x 62.0 x 27.7, 8626 GT, 6393 NT US 223909 to:
Ford Motor Co., Detroit MI (home port Detroit MI)
Entered service Aug 1924. On maiden trip carried cargo of coal from Toledo OH to Duluth MN
Tank top replaced 1953
Remeasured to 8170 GT, 5196 NT
Remeasured 1961 to 8193 GT, 5193 NT
Retired from active service at end of 1981 season. Laid up at Dearborn MI and did not operate again.
Sold 1982 to Frank J. Sullivan Jr. for conversion to barge. Conversion never made.
Renamed John Dykstra (2) 1983 to free up her former name to rename another vessel.
Engine removed 1983 and vessel towed to Solvay Process Co. dock on the Detroit River. Towed 1984 to Cleveland OH.
Sold for scrap 1986 to Marine Salvage Ltd., Port Colborne ON. Forward cabins removed at Cleveland and converted into a summer home on South Bass Island, Lake Erie.
Hull scrapped at Port Colborne.
IMO 5041554
See history in Great Lakes Ships We Remember III p. 134
2403
I graduated from Mass Maritime Academy in1972, The Benson Ford was my first ship as a 3rd Asst. Engineer a day after graduation. I work for 6 months with a payoff off $10,000 after taxes, paid in cash. She was a beautiful vessel and I enjoyed every moment aboard her. Her engine was a Sundoxford, direct reversable, opposed piston, 2 stoke and 3300 HP.
Lovely quarters, excellent food and an incredible crew. I was 21, the next closes age was 55. Went to sea for the next 34 years and retired from ExxonMobil as a Chief Engineer for 27 years. I was blessed to have been a crew member on the Benson.
Kind regards, Patrick W Jenkins 72 MMA.
I was an oiler on the Benson Ford while a college student at Wayne State University in 1965. I was aboard for 6 weeks as a vacation replacement for the three regular oilers. It was probably the best job I had on the lakes. Just as you said, the food was great, the ship was impressive and the Captain, engineers and the rest of the crew were great to work with. Unlike you, I quit sailing in 1966 to get married. Still married to the same girl.
Sadly, all the ships I worked on during my brief career have been scrapped except the Reserve which has been turned into a really ugly barge. Thanks for bringing up some very pleasant memories.