Head boat Linda Mae will rise again and host charters

With a Coast Guard recommended welding patch and refurbishment of its engine, the iconic 42-foot Linda Mae party head boat is expected to again host Lake Erie fishing charters, beginning next late spring.

The 33,000 vessel became a victim October 20th, sinking after what was believed to be caused by a seiche rolling the across the 50-plus mile width of Lake Erie. This seiche is thought to have started at the Ontario shoreline, slamming into its Ohio counterpart.

This unstoppable force piled up a wall of water along the Ohio shoreline estimated at more than five feet high.

About midnight the resulting surge broke loose the head fishing boat from its mooring at Cleveland Metroparks’ Wildwood Marina complex in Cleveland. The wall of water than pushed the vessel some 75 yards, crashing the boat into the rocks adjacent to the marina’s gas docks, resulting in the boat sinking stern first into thick mud.

Among the damage to the Linda Mae – built in 1952 as a commercial gill-net fishing platform – was featured structural issues to the starboard side near the engine, said the vessel’s owner, Vitus Kijauskas.

Kijauskas said shortly after the incident the Linda Mae was raised and transported to a marine repair facility along the Chagrin River in the Lake County city of Eastlake.

An inspection by the Coast Guard led the agency to conclude that the damage would require an approximately eight-foot-long welded fix to the hull, a job that easily can be performed by an experienced tradesman familiar with marine welding requirements, Kijauskas said.

As for the Linda Mae’s 160 horsepower/more than 500 foot-pound torque/supercharged diesel engine, a specialist was called in who performed what is called “pickling.” This term implies that a diesel engine that’s been submerged is thoroughly drained of all water, the internal metal components wiped down with a light oil to prevent rusting, and the engine refilled with oil.

Kijauskas said the vessel will be worked on through the winter and be ready for charters again sometime by May.

The “where” of such a charter service is still being worked out but very likely will mean a move to the Grand River from its previous 35-year stay at the Cleveland Metroparks’ Wildwood unit.

It is hoped that besides the Linda Mae the enterprise’s bait store, small tackle and refreshment emporium also will be transferred to a marina in Lake County’s Grand River Village, Kijauskas said.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net