We had a look at the 1947 vessel’s unique wheelhouse sitting all alone without her ship underneath her last week. She appeared quite large on the ground, and would be great to repurpose for anyone interested in buying her.
There were only a few artifacts remaining on the vessel when she arrived in Port Colborne, and most were donated back to South Baymouth, Manitoulin Island, her home for decades. The wheelhouse unfortunately, was too big and costly to transport back by barge. So she waits for a buyer now. There are also 6 dead lights, 1 porthole, 24 dogears and 1 lifeboat for sale off her if anyone is interested.
The S.S. Norisle was towed to Marine Recycling Corporation in December 2023 and she was pulled aground for recycling in the spring of 2024.
They started with the clean cut lines with the torches, in order to first get rid of any combustibles that could cause a fire when torching (wooden decks, forward compartment etc.). Basically just clean all areas out before the hot work starts. Then the next step was artifact removal. Then torch cut some of the higher stuff to get to the proper height, so shearing can be reached (upper decks). The wheelhouse was removed in its entirety (pictured above).
The 215′ Norisle was built specifically for the Tobermory/South Baymouth passenger ferry service and made its first run in 1947. The impressive ship could carry 200 passengers and up to 50 vehicles, doubling the capacity of prior vessels.
Oct. 23, 2024
Article submitted by Janey Anderson @ Ship Junkies – Lakes, Locks & Rivers (LL&R)