Our technical writer, Susie Sentevski, happened to be at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Ohio this weekend. While there, she got a look inside Steamship William G. Mather. The freighter was built in 1925. While viewing the restored vessel, she happened upon the ship’s boiler, built by our ally Babcock and Wilcox.

She took the above picture of the B&W boiler in ship. The museum has great pride in the vessel, as the website proclaims the freighter “the ship that built Cleveland.”

“It seemed only natural to find B&W a part of what is widely considered an engineering triumph,” said Susie.
She was happy for the opportunity to discuss B&W’s legacy in the shipping industry with her friend, whose career involves working on ships.

The boiler of Steamship William G. Mather has gone through some changes since it was first installed.  The original coal-fired boiler was replaced by a B&W oil fueled boiler in 1954. In 1964, the ship became the first Great Lakes vessel to have fully automated boiler controls. So successful was the modification, that other ships began to do the same to their controls. The increase in safety and efficiency were not to be passed up.

The ship was designated a historic landmark in 1995 by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.