The ''Frank C. Ball'' was an American

Bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, econom ...

that was built by the

Great Lakes Engineering Works The Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW) was a leading shipbuilding company with a shipyard in Ecorse, Michigan, that operated between 1902 and 1960. Within three years of its formation, it was building fifty percent of the tonnage of all ships ...

Ecorse, Michigan Ecorse ( ') is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,512 at the 2010 census. Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroit ...

, for the Globe Steamship Company (managed by G. A. Tomlinson, Mgr.) of

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. She was launched on December 9, 1905, as hull #14. She was powered by a 1,700 horsepower

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

and fueled by two coal-fired Scotch marine boilers. Even though ''Ball'' was built in 1905, she only entered service in 1906. 1930s Lake Freighter - J

In 1930 the ''Ball'' was sold to the Construction Materials Corporation of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. She was converted to a self-unloading sand dredge, and repowered by a steam powered Turbo-electric engine at

American Shipbuilding Company The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the World War II, Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898. It changed ...

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 65 ...

. She was the first commercial vessel on the lakes to use this form of propulsion. Her original engine was installed in the Ford Motor Company's former barge, the ''Lake Frugality'', when she was requisitioned for salt water service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

J.R. Sensibar

In 1931 the ''Ball'' was transferred to the Sensibar Transportation Company of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and renamed ''J.R. Sensibar''. She was purchased to dredge the material for Chicago World's Fair. In 1936 the ''Sensibar'' was sold to the Midwest Vessel Corporation of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

where she served for only one year. In 1937 she was sold to the Construction Aggregates Company of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. In 1941 the ''Sensibar'' was sold to the Columbia Transportation Company of

. She was converted to a self-unloading freighter that same year. In 1957 the fleet owned by Columbia Transportation Company merged with the Oglebay Norton Corporation. In 1960 the ''Sensibar'' had a new diesel engine installed, she also had her cargo hatches raised by Christy Corporation of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. In 1961 the ''Sensibar'' was lengthened to by

South Chicago, Illinois South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtown. ...

. In 1981 the ''Sensibar'' was sold to Johnstone Shipping Ltd. of

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

affiliate of Ship Repairs & Supplies Ltd., and renamed ''Conallison''. She was primarily used for carrying coal from

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

ports to ports on the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

. She did not operate through the 1982 shipping season.

Layup

In 1983 the ''Conallison'' was laid up and sold for scrap to Marine Salvage Ltd. of Port Colborne, Ontario. She was later resold to a Spanish scrapyard, leaving

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

with the steamer George M. Carl towed by the Polish tug ''Koral''. The vessels arrived in Avilés, Spain on September 17, 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frank C. Ball 1905 ships Great Lakes freighters Merchant ships of the United States Steamships of the United States Ships powered by a triple expansion steam engine Ships built in Ecorse, Michigan