Steamer or Steamship
Steamer is an early term for any vessel power by a steam engine rather than sails.
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.
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.
- Type:
- shipwreck, "whale-back" steamer, USA
- Built:
- 1890, AmShip Superior, Duluth MN USA, as Colgate Hoyt
- Specs:
- ( 276 x 36 ft ) 1253 displacement tons
- Sunk:
- Saturday December 25, 1909
ran aground in thick fog - 10 casualties - Depth:
- 14 ft
More: Thurmond ...
- Type:
- Adonis - shipwreck, wood-hulled bark
Rusland - shipwreck, iron-hulled steamer, England - Built:
- Adonis - 1853, Germany
Rusland - 1872, Scotland, as Kenilworth - Specs:
- Adonis - 550 tons, 12 crew
Rusland - ( 345 x 37 ft ) 2538 gross tons, ~200 passengers & crew - Depth:
- 25 ft
- Sunk:
- Adonis - Tuesday March 8, 1859 - ran aground in bad weather, no casualties
Rusland - Saturday March 17, 1877 - ran aground in bad weather, no casualties
More: Dual Wrecks ...
- Type:
- shipwreck, steamer, USA
- Built:
- 1885, Goss & Sawyer, Bath ME USA
- Specs:
- ( 252 x 37 ft ) 1605 tons, 351 passengers & crew
- Sunk:
- Monday February 11, 1907
collision with schooner Harry Knowlton - 334 casualties - Depth:
- 140 ft
huge paddlewheels; wooden hull draped with fishing nets; hazardous currents & poor viz.
More: Larchmont ...