Steamer or Steamship

Steamer is an early term for any vessel power by a steam engine rather than sails.

Shipwreck Delaware
The Delaware, an 1880s screw steamer

Early steamers were propelled by large paddlewheels. "Side-wheelers", with the paddlewheels on each side, were more seaworthy, and therefore more common in ocean waters, while "stern-wheelers", with a single large paddlewheel at the back, were more common as riverboats. Later, these were replaced by more efficient screw (or propeller) vessels.

Shipwreck Black Warrior
The Black Warrior, an 1850s side-paddlewheel steamer. There are no stern-wheelers in the region that I know of.
Click
This sketch of the Delaware shows the remains that you can expect to find of such a vessel.

Of note is the universal pattern of:

< bow - boilers - engine - drive shaft - propeller - rudder/stern )

and the fact that the boilers are always in front of the engine. Identify any one of these features on the wreck, and you can orient yourself in even the murkiest conditions.

Shipwreck Delaware boiler
Boilers on the Delaware. In the foreground is an intact one. Next to that is a collapsed one; there are four altogether. In the background is the engine.
steam engine
An old postcard of the City of Keansburg, the last of the New York commuter ferries, and one of the last steamships to ply local waters - until 1968.
steam engine
One of the Keansburg's two triple-expansion steam engines, at Allaire State Park.

Shipwreck General Slocum
Type:
shipwreck, barge, USA
Built:
1891, Brooklyn NY USA, as General Slocum
Specs:
( 235 x 37 ft ) 1284 gross tons, 4 crew
Sunk:
Monday December 4, 1911
storm - no casualties
Depth:
25 ft ( 30 ft, including mud )


Shipwreck San Saba
Type:
shipwreck, steamer, USA
Name:
San Saba is a river in central Texas, a tributary of the Colorado River of Texas.
Built:
1879, Chester PA USA, as Colorado
Specs:
( 306 x 39 ft ) 2458 gross tons, 37 crew
Sunk:
Friday October 4, 1918
struck mine laid by U-117 - 30 casualties
Depth:
80 ft

lobster boat
A typical lobster boat off the coast of Maine. New Jersey boats are similar. Traps are hauled up by a hydraulic lift; steel plating protects the side of the boat.

Printed from njscuba.net