Her gross tonnage was 1,182 tons and her length was 226 feet long. The width of her beam was 46 feet and her width over the guardrails was 17 feet. 

The PUT-IN-BAY was built in Wyandotte, Michigan, by the Detroit Shipbuilding Company. She was launched from Detroit on March 1, 1911, for the Ashley and Dustin Steamboat Line, which was in Detroit. She was a different type of ship for those days. Instead of side wheels, she had propeller type propulsion. 

In 1911, Captain Arthur J. Fox was her captain. She ran to Put-In-Bay, Cedar Point, and Sandusky. One could leave Detroit at 9:00 A.M. and leave one's final stop, Sandusky, at 2:30 P.M. The PUT-IN-BAY also made moonlight runs out of Detroit. In later years, Captain Frank E. Hamilton was her captain. He was her captain for many years. She traveled at a speed of 16.5 miles per hour & carried 2,800 people. 

The boat had five decks. In the hold there was a buffet, crews quarters, galley and crew mess rooms. On the main deck there were the clerk's and steward's offices. The glass enclosed main dining room was also on the deck. Breakfast and lunch were served in the dining room. Their minimum charge was 50 cents. It must have been nice to get a whole meal for 50 cents. The whole ship was finished in red mahogany. There were three staircases leading up to the Promenade Deck. On this deck, there was an enclosed dance hall with a raised bandstand. There was also a lunch counter and a snack bar. On the fourth floor there was an enclosed cabin, which was carpeted. This cabin was finished in white mahogany. It had a raised observation deck with six parlors. 

On April 30, 1949, the PUT-IN-BAY was sold to Nick M. Constans. She was laid-up in 1951. Constans later went bankrupt. On May 7, 1953, the PUT-IN-BAY was sold at a public auction to Troy Browning and Dave C. Tow of Detroit. The gear was sold on June 5, 1953 after it had been dismantled. On October 2, of the same year, she was towed into Lake St. Clair and was burned as a spectacle. The hull was towed back to Detroit and cut up for scrap.

Article written by Captain Hamilton.  Courtesy of the Rutherford B. Hayes Memorial Library.