104 (barge)

41°30′16″N 81°43′21″W / 41.50444°N 81.72250°W / 41.50444; -81.72250

104 before she sank
History
United States
Name	104
Namesake	Her hull number
Owner	American Steel Barge Company of Buffalo, New York
Port of registry	Buffalo, New York, United States
Builder	American Steel Barge Company of Duluth, Minnesota
Yard number	104
Laid down	October 23, 1889
Launched	February 6, 1890
In service	April 21, 1890
Out of service	November 10, 1898
Identification	Registry number US  53257
Fate	Sank on Lake Erie after striking the West Breakwater in Cleveland, Ohio
General characteristics
Type	Whaleback barge
Tonnage	1,295 gross tons 1,230 net tons
Length	288 feet (87.8 m) LOA 276.5 feet (84.3 m) LBP
Beam	36.1 feet (11.0 m)
Depth	18.9 feet (5.8 m)
Propulsion	Towed by a steamship
Capacity	3,300 tons
Crew	7

104 (also known as Barge 104,^[1] or No.104^[2]) was an American whaleback barge in service between 1890 and 1898. The fourth whaleback constructed, she was built between October 1889 and February 1890, in Duluth, Minnesota by Alexander McDougall's American Steel Barge Company, for McDougall's fleet of the same name, based in Buffalo, New York. She was a whaleback, a class of distinctive, experimental ship designed and built by McDougall. The whalebacks were designed to be more stable in high seas. They had rounded decks, and lacked the normal straight sides seen on traditional lake freighters. 104 entered service on April 21, hauling iron ore from Two Harbors, Minnesota.

On November 10, 1898, while being towed out of Cleveland harbour with a cargo of coal bound for Duluth, she broke away from the tug Alva B. 104 crashed into Cleveland's west breakwater. She sank quickly, with her crew being rescued by the Cleveland United States Life-Saving Service. 104 was a total loss, becoming the first whaleback to be lost on the Great Lakes.