A straight decker is a colloquial term for a Great Lakes ship that is not a self unloader and has no boom extending over the deck, hence a straight deck (I guess) -- at one time all of the hundreds of Great Lakes vessels were straight deckers and had to be unloaded by large equipments such as the Huletts.

The self unloaders are pretty much self evident; any laker (or other vessel for that matter) that has the boom and conveyor to unload itself.

I guess straight deckers are cherished as they are few in number and hark back to older days of the "pure" laker. Also, in terms of aesthetics I think most would agree that, while beauty is a subjective matter, the straight deckers are far more appealing.

I remember last June after a day on the St. Lawrence, and one flat tire, stopping at Trois Rivieres to watch the sun set before heading back to my summer cottage in Vermont and watching two straight deckers meet, with the upbound one disappearing into the sunset so to speak. It was a moment I will not not forget. Wonderful images etched into my mind.