Great Lakes passenger steamers the lakes grew in size and number, and additional decks were built on the superstructure to allow more capacity. This inexpensive method of adding capacity was adapted from river steamboats and successfully applied to lake-going craft. The Erie Canal opened in 1825, allowing settlers from New England and New York to reach Michigan by water through Albany and Buffalo. This route opening and the incorporation of Chicago in 1837, increased Great Lakes steamboat traffic from Detroit through the straits of Mackinaw to Chicago. The screw propeller was introduced to the Great Lakes by "Vandalia" in 1842 and allowed the building
Great Lakes passenger steamers Lakes) and a high-speed catamaran running between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Muskegon, Michigan. An international ferry ran on Lake Ontario from Rochester, New York to Toronto from 2004 to 2005, but it was plagued with high operating costs and low demand. The privately owned company was taken over by the City of Rochester, and the ship was sold overseas where it operated across the Strait of Gibraltar. Cruise ship traffic on the Great Lakes increased in the early-21st century, with ships like the MS Hamburg, the MS Saint Laurent and the smaller ships of the Great Lakes Cruise Company offering multi-day