Letters — Winter 1999
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The Great Lakes… 84% of the continent’s fresh water… a different story in every drop.
Vintage Postcard of the 𝘚𝘵𝘦. 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦 leaving Canada for Detroit.
Letter from George P. Wakefield (Ex-coalpasser Harry Coulby)
That “Pinch on the 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩” story was a peach! I enjoyed Perrine’s fine yarn. It is a classic among Great Lake stories and could be repeated in Inland Seas® every ten years or so. What especially impressed me was Perrine’s description of the temperature he encountered as he crawled along the top of the planked grates. It sounded excessive and downright [deadly], so I reviewed my temperature-touch experience while testing transformer temperatures. I found 125 degrees Fahrenheit about as much as you could touch, but not hold. If Perrine crawled in on boarded grates with surrounding temperatures at 125 degrees with all that radiant energy, I believe he never would have come out!
Was hot boiler entry a common practice among boiler specialists? Since I am only a buff, I ask this simple question.
Perrine has written one of the best hands-on type articles I have read in my favorite ship magazine. It is the kind of history told by a fellow that was there — the kind of stuff this buff likes. Keep her steamin’.
George P. Wakefield
Ex-coalpasser Harry Coulby
Response from Edward A. Perrine
Re: Question of Temperature in Ship Boiler Rooms
The worst I ever encountered was on the Bob-lo boat, the 𝘚𝘵𝘦. 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦. We couldn’t have a regular thermometer in her boiler room because the temperature was 140 degrees underway — we used an oven thermometer! We had a set of mirrors arranged so the fireman could see the boiler fronts from the engine room. He would stand by the engineer at the throttle until we got an order for a speed change — then rush out into the boiler room, make necessary adjustments, then hurry back. I tried going in the boiler room underway but the heat stung my skin and I had to return almost immediately.
And yes, it was standard practice for firemen and engineers to enter the fireside of boilers with steam on them — often with a full head of steam! The planks smoked, but the furnace draft kept us alive. We wore gloves and the perspiration evaporating off our coveralls cooled us. Steamboat companies reiterated “time is money” and we didn’t have the luxury of time to cool the boiler before we entered. If the ship lost time for boiler trouble, the engineers were blamed, the Captain’s tonnage bonus was affected and everyone had to hear a few choice words from the office. Other times, we had to quickly prepare our ship for approaching bad weather.
I realize today these conditions would not be allowed to exist, but they were common in the past. Believe me, Great Lakes engine room personnel took a lot of heat!
Thank you for your interest in my story.
Edward A. Perrine
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