Qualla: Barge 115

Barge 115: Introduction

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

They called them pig boats. With their rounded hulls and porcine-looking snouts, the whaleback barges designed by Scottish immigrant Alexander McDougall drew skepticism, derision, and more than a few laughs from experienced Great Lakes sailors in the late 1880s. Only 44 whalebacks were ever built, and Barge 115 was one of them -- launched in August 1891 from McDougall's own shipyard in Superior, Wisconsin, after no established builder would touch his unconventional designs. For eight years she hauled iron ore across the Great Lakes without fanfare. Then, in December 1899, she became the final shipwreck of the century, and her crew's survival became one of the most remarkable stories on Lake Superior.

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Barge 115: A Scotsman's Stubborn Vision

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Alexander McDougall was a Great Lakes captain who believed conventional barges were dangerously inefficient in heavy seas. Their flat sides caught waves broadside; their squared decks held water instead of shedding it. His solution was radical: a vessel with a rounded hull shaped...

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Barge 115: A Hard-Luck Career on the Lakes

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Barge 115 earned her keep but paid for it in steel and bruises. In May 1893, while under tow by the whaleback freighter Colgate Hoyt, she was struck by the downbound whaleback Thomas Wilson. She limped into dry dock in Duluth for repairs. A year later, she broke 16 hull plates in...

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Barge 115: Five Days Adrift

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

December 10, 1899. Barge 115 loaded 3,000 tons of iron ore at Two Harbors, Minnesota, for what was supposed to be the season's final run to Lake Erie. Captain Arthur A. Boyce and his seven-man crew set out under tow of the Colgate Hoyt, heading for the Soo Locks. They sailed stra...

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Barge 115: Survival on Pic Island

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The crew abandoned the wrecked barge using her small life raft, making multiple trips between the stranded hull and the rocky shore until all eight men reached Pic Island. Some carried extra clothes. Others carried food: two loaves of bread and a ham. They also had candles and gr...

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Barge 115: The Wreck Below

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Barge 115 lay undiscovered for over 80 years. In 1980, wreck hunter Ryan LeBlanc located her remains on a rock bottom near Pic Island. The force of the wreck had been staggering -- twisted steel plates from the hull were found lodged high on the cliff face where the barge had pou...

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