Presque Isle - An Unusual View of a Most Unusual Ship

[@1Long2Short]

If you are interested in supporting this channel to keep more videos coming, I accept donations at the following link: www.paypal.com/paypalme/1long2short Donations of any size are gratefully accepted and are used to cover expenses for my trips to Duluth. Your views, likes, and comments are also greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[@kickinkaren478]

I love it when the sailors come out and wave to the crowd. Beautiful ship 🚢

[@BL-jt3qt]

Another fantastic catch with great camera views and info from you. Thank you - 👍

[@1Long2Short]

Thanks BL! 🙂

[@bdctrans70]

Whoa! She is looooaded! Wow, she is sitting low in the water.

[@richhamill6143]

What a unique ship. Thank you for the video.

[@1Long2Short]

Thanks for watching!

[@ojlott]

As usual a beautiful video. I enjoyed all the mini salutes and then realized the vessel is a home town hero.

[@1Long2Short]

Thank you!

[@adriannegrillo8394]

This is the first time I've seen her this way! Thank you!! She's amazing!

[@1Long2Short]

Thanks! It was the first time I saw her this way too. 🙂

[@warrenp.5916]

Loaded to the gills!!!

[@neallorentz2744]

Beautiful ship

[@williamphillips6247]

Love the Presque Isle! Nice video! Still miss seeing it in its' original Litton fleet colors, though.

[@1Long2Short]

Thanks William!

[@mikeboyer2421]

some great photo work, right to the parking lot! well done

[@1Long2Short]

Thank you!

[@delavan9141]

I grew up in the Soo and just discovered these 100s of Duluth ship-watcher videos. I think it's kind of funny how excited people there get over these boats. Nice though how the captains always play along with all the horn-blasting. Thankfully that was never a thing as they transported the Soo river system.

[@1Long2Short]

It seems to have caught on at Rotary Park. Maybe not as much as Duluth, however. 🙂

[@cris_261]

I wonder if Presque Isle was an experiment to test the usefulness of a thousand foot tug and barge combo. Guess it worked well enough for Presque Isle, but future tug and barge sets worked better when the barge is under a thousand feet. It's an interesting note in the thousand footer story that pairs well with the other oddity in the fleet, the Stewart J. Cort.

[@1Long2Short]

Tug boats can operate with smaller crews, so the Presque Isle was designed for a smaller crew. But then the Coast Guard determined that the tug was too unstable to operate without the barge (except in limited situations), so they had to shoehorn a full crew into a tug designed for a smaller crew. That’s probably why they didn’t build another 1000-foot tug/barge.

[@cris_261]

​​@@1Long2Shortwonder what made the Coast Guard determine Presque Isle's tug was too unstable to operate without the barge, excluding limited situations? It seems to have affected other tug and barge sets as well.

[@1Long2Short]

I’m not sure how they determined it, but it looks very top heavy and unstable when it’s not connected to the barge. It looks like it would roll over if it encountered a small wave. The newer tugs look much more stable, no doubt learning some lessons from the Presque Isle design. 😉

[@cris_261]

@1Long2Short I was thinking that might be the case. So Presque Isle: not so good as a tug, but a winning combo when attached to its barge. Just be prepared to rub shoulders with your fellow crewmen, and no complaining! 😉

[@1Long2Short]

It sounds like most crew share rooms with others, while crew on other boats usually have their own rooms.

[@privatepilot4064]

That’s a huge taunt taunt boat! Great video!

[@1Long2Short]

Thanks! 🙂

[@HistoryRocksMuse]

you're right - a very unique style of ship. The tug-barge thing still cracks me up, but I guess it works. :)

[@jeff9104]

Nice catch, I've never seen one loaded or sitting that low in the water / channel !

[@1Long2Short]

Thanks! Yes, it’s odd to see a 1000-footer arriving fully loaded.

[@gregmctevia5087]

That was amazing. That barge sure is broad in the beam. Must be a delicate operation slipping her and the tug through the lock systems. Really nice piece.

[@oceansoul3694]

This is a wonderful video, she looks hugely WIDE compared to other ships or is just an optical illusion? I will never tire of seeing the men swing over the ship's side to the dock, what a great thing that is! It really makes me wonder about the barge/tug combination...it doesn't seem possible that a tug could really navigate that huge thing. wow~ and thank you

[@1Long2Short]

Thanks Lisa! The Presque Isle’s bow doesn’t stand as high out of the water, creating the illusion that she is wider. It looks doubly wide when fully loaded and viewed head-on. 🙂 The engines in the tug are as strong as the engines in most of the other 1000 footers. She’s a mighty beast of a tug!

[@oceansoul3694]

@@1Long2Short thanks for that explanation. I can't wait for the day I can come up to Duluth and see these monsters for myself! Enjoy your adventures!

[@1Long2Short]

You will have a great time when you come! 🙂

[@IamValentina66]

Stunning video.

[@1Long2Short]

Thank you! 🙂

[@SVUtopia1946]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing

[@1Long2Short]

Thanks for watching!

[@wendellellison3482]

I am amazed that this fits in the SOO Locks!!!

[@1Long2Short]

Just enough room!

[@jaynehall8533]

❤great footage

[@MrZwapp]

Wow that's a low bow !

[@NickolasFigler-fi3wj]

Many tug and barge combo's on the East River New York.

[@leehanna4929]

Very good video! Does the tug ride at the same level all the time or does it ride higher when the barge is empty?

[@1Long2Short]

Good question. I’ll need to compare with previous videos to see.

[@Srdieselshawn]

The tug fits into a slot in the barge and is locked in place. The tug moves up and down the same as the barge whether loaded or empty.

[@yelyab1]

What is being shipped into Duluth? Ice cubes? I thought everything went out as iron ore from the Mesabi. That’s a lot of bunker oil if that’s what it is.

[@1Long2Short]

Details are provided in the video description. 🙂

[@scouttrainor9517]

My son Sam, absolutely loves watching your videos! He was wondering what the round plaques (attached to the upper deck railings @3:10 ) were for? Do you know?

[@1Long2Short]

Tell your son thank you for watching! 🙂 The round plaques are meant to be Viking shields. Each crew member got to create their own. The other side of the pilot house has more for the rest of the crew.

[@actionjackson5646]

What is the purpose of the two different horns?

[@1Long2Short]

The second set of horns was the lift bridge returning the salute from the ship.

[@JCLampee-t3f]

what is the beam of that ship?

[@1Long2Short]

105 feet

[@ap4709pk]

I know absolutely nothing about ships, but this design looks like it wouldn’t be very stable in bad weather.

[@centexan]

Would somebody with more nautical savvy explain some advantages to the tug/ship thing? Was it just an experiment that wound up with no real advantage?

[@1Long2Short]

Tugs can usually operate with smaller crews than standard ships. (That wasn’t the case with the Presque Isle,however.) Also, it was thought that there would be more versatility by allowing tugs to separate for fueling, maintenance, or other cargo runs with other barges while a barge was being loaded/unloaded. In practice, that hasn’t really occurred, but newer tug-barge combos do operate with smaller crews… so there is a cost savings.

[@centexan]

@@1Long2Short Thanks for the info! I had wondered about the size of the crew, but it seemed the same number would need needed for a thousand foot vessel whether the engine and quarters were attached or not. Thanks again!

[@1Long2Short]

I may not be 100% correct, but I think the requirements for crew size are based on the size of the powered vessel… in this case the tug. But the Coast Guard examined the tug and deemed that it was too unstable to operate safely on its own out on the lakes. Therefore the crew size requirement was based on the tug being attached to the barge. They had to squeeze the full-sized crew into accommodations designed for a reduced-sized crew. I saw an interview with someone who was a former cook on the Presque Isle and they said the galley is tiny, making it difficult to serve the size of meals required.

[@vernwallen4246]

Sailors have more fun.

[@FlatBroke612]

You would see her without her barge. It’s the nautical equivalent of the short bus. Still has plenty of windows to lick though...

[@1Long2Short]

I’ve seen photos of the tug on its own, but never in person. Maybe someday.

[@mortenjohansen8148]

Where is the IMO Nr??

[@ozzymd1]

How deep is inlet channel ?

[@1Long2Short]

28 feet

[@everythinglakefreighters47]

Hey! It’s nice to see that your back to uploading, just wanted to say that your videos are sweet, and I also have a question, what type of camera do you use in these videos?

[@1Long2Short]

Thank you! I’m currently using a Nikon D6 II with a 24-200mm zoom lens. Nothing too fancy!

[@edwardpate6128]

I've never understood how this design has any significant advantages.

[@1Long2Short]

Apparently it didn’t. They never built another 1000-foot tug-barge combo.

[@kerryscott3287]

It’s an unpowered barge, the stern is a pusher tug boat

[@1Long2Short]

As mentioned in the video description 😉

[@JZsBFF]

I guess that we DON'T need a bigger boat.

[@johnmcque4813]

It's a barge and a tug, not a ship.

[@1Long2Short]

Tugs and barges are types of ships 🙂

[@roberthenderson4466]

The train horn said hello back...........

[@1Long2Short]

That’s the Aerial Lift Bridge saluting back. 🙂

[@roberthenderson4466]

Oh ok thanks.........

[@tomhowe1510]

I swear i could just smell diesel fumes

[@1Long2Short]

I swear I can still smell them! 😁

[@jaynorris3722]

Shesvery low in the water.

[@1Long2Short]

Fully loaded!

[@Local-Of-The-Mitten-State]

she is T H I C C

[@vernwallen4246]

Sailors have more fun.