North American was a Great Lakes steamship built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works at Ecorse, Michigan, in 1913 for the Chicago, Duluth & Georgian Bay Transit Company. The vessel was launched on January 16, 1913, and was the older of two , the newer one being SS South American. North American was 280 feet (85 m) in length, had a 47-foot (14 m) beam, and drew 17 feet 6 inches (5.33 m) She had a 2,200 indicated horsepower quadruple expansion steam engine and three coal-burning Scotch boilers. In 1923 the boilers were converted to burn oil.