Eight Steamboats : Wayne State University Press : 9780814331750 : 0814331750 : 31 Jul 2004 : In the 1960s, an era of widespread social turbulence, the shipping industry in the Great Lakes was on the threshold of immense change. Developed during World War II, the U.S. merchant fleet faced threatening competition from the newer Canadian fleet. The demand for iron ore skyrocketed as baby boomers matured into the age of auto and appliance buying. To meet the increasing need, there was talk of expanding the size of the Soo Locks to accommodate larger vessels and even of lengthening the shipping season. It was glaringly obvious that a time of change was upon the aging U.S. ships and even more so on the men who sailed them. Eight Steamboats chronicles Patrick Livingston's adventures on eight shipping vessels?only one of which survives?during the 1960s. Told from the perspective of a writer who sails rather than a sailor who writes, the tales are spiced with connections between shore and sea.