The Taylor also conducted a small return trade, carrying a variety of commodities from Milwaukee to Green Bay, Door County, and other ports. A typical return cargo included one or two barrels of meat products, a few tons (or less) of feed, grains, sundries, and, invariably, merchandise. This return trade, however, was merely a sideline.  The real money in the coastal trade was in lumber.

In the summer of 1874, the Hetty Taylor encountered a bit of trouble. She was on a trip to Lake Huron with a crew of only four men, one less then her traditional compliment. She encountered high seas and a moderate breeze that stripped off her foretopmast and a square sail .

The damaged boat did make it to shore safely, but the incident may reflect the difficulty the owners and captains encountered in balancing profit margins with the safety of the crew. A larger crew might have been able to avoid the damage-and the danger of flying masts and rigging-by quickly reducing sail when the heavy weather struck. However, the small crew saved between two hundred to four hundred dollars in labor costs per season, a considerable sum during a period of tight profit margins.

For the Hetty Taylor , however, such considerations became moot just seven weeks later, when much more serious trouble ended her career.

Read about the Hetty Taylor's final voyage