SEQUEL
The author sailed as a deckhand on boats like these. Some Captains played chicken with other boats, docks, etc. often to the amusement of crews lining the deck, watching the maneuvers.

Having pulled hatches with other deckhands, I can tell you that two men lifting these hatches was the hard part - securing hatch latches was easy. Negligence, by not securing them, could be fatal.

As might be expected, this deckhand was married in Duluth, MN.

Deckhand work was good work. As a member of the SIU Sailors International Union, you could get off a boat in Toledo, have some fun, then go to the Union Hall to get another boat job.

Because the boats were in Port every few days, fresh food and good cooking were part of the fun.

The only real danger was the professional gamblers who worked the boats to bilk the boys.

The historians who recorded history never worked the boats - what did they know?

Fitzgerald's record included hitting other boats, docks, etc. This was not unusual for cowboy captains.