Edmund Fitzgerald

Date 7-28-06

The Fitzgerald was a "Laker", a 729-foot-long, 75 feet in breadth, 39 feet in depth, 13,632 gross tons ore bulk carrier with a capacity of 25,000 tons.

Its large cargo hold loaded through twenty-one water-tight hatches, each measuring 11' by 48' of 5/16" steel.
When it was built in 1958, at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, Michigan, Fitzgerald was the largest ship on the Great Lakes. Comparatively, ships today can be 1,000 by 105-feet with twice the capacity.
The ship's engines were originally coal-fired, but were converted to oil during the 1971-72 winter layover.

The FITZGERALD was a conventional "straightdecker" Great Lakes bulk cargo vessel.
It was propelled by a 7,500-hp, steam turbine and was built as Hull 301 at Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michigan, in 1958.

L = 729 - foot long
D= 39 - feet in depth
L/D= 1958 Design Standards
Must be 14 or less

L/D= Max. Length of ship design for tested construction. (14 is the Max.)
729/39=18.69 Over 1958 Tested Construction Standards.

546/39=14 Meets design standards for ship's length.

Max. = 546 ft long ship to meet the tested L/D standards in 1958 = (L/D=14).

This calculator will check the percent over tested L/D standards.

Input 546 for 1958 L/D standards into Length box
Input 729 for ship length as built into As-Built box

183 feet over 1958 tested design standards for ( L/D ) .
Note: 33.52% over (length to depth) for ship design.

L/D = 14 or Less or:
The ship will bend up and down, bend side to side
and rotate with greater movement as wind and wave action increases.

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