Propellers, Shafts & Rudders ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

Propellers, Shafts & Rudders

A huge modern brass propeller ( from the *SS United States* ) on display.

shipwreck Delaware propeller — Looking down the prop shaft at the iron propeller on the *Delaware*. The narrow squarish blades indicate that this is a rather primitive 1880's model, unlike the more modern rounded prop on the *Macedonia* below.

shipwreck Macedonia propeller — The propeller on the *Macedonia*.

shipwreck Macedonia shaft mount — Propeller shaft bearing and mount on the *Macedonia*.

reef Venturo propeller — The propeller on the *GA Venturo* - a completely modern design. Note the wide, round blades.

Breaking a propeller shaft at sea can be a disaster. The propeller stops turning and becomes a drag, while the vessel's momentum carries it forward. The propeller slams backward, extracting the broken shaft and often mangling the rudder. This leaves a large hole open in the bottom of the vessel, directly into the bilges and machinery spaces. On a large vessel with a deep draft and a large shaft, the water comes in like a fire hose - uncontrollable.

The engine is soon disabled, and along with that the pumps, which in any case are probably not big enough to keep up with this magnitude of flooding. The outcome may take several hours, but it is inevitable unless maybe the Coast Guard can fly out a special de-watering pump on one of their big helos. Unlike a collision, storm, or rogue wave, there is usually plenty of time for an orderly abandon-ship, and there are seldom casualties if rescue is available.

Shipwreck Emerald — The "Emerald" fell victim to a broken prop shaft in 1873, and the *Lady Gertrude* sank the same way in 2016.

shipwreck Oregon steering quadrant — The fallen steering quadrant on the *Oregon*, perhaps 20 ft across.

New Developments in Artificial Reefs

The Pauline Marie sinks slowly on the Atlantic City Reef.

By Evelyn DeWitt Myatt & Bill Figley, 1986

It's hard to imagine anything that could have looked more forlorn than the rusty old freighter whose proud seagoing days were a thing of the past. Floating idly at her berth awaiting her fate, she was a victim of nature's ravages that had left her beautiful only in the eyes of her old captain and crew. The Pauline Marie, however, was not destined to be the victim of a cutting torch that would turn her into a tangle of scrap steel. Instead, she was acquired by the New Jersey Artificial Reef Program and went down with dignity as an artificial reef in March 1985. She now provides continuing services from her watery grave in the Atlantic, some twelve miles off Atlantic City, and her appeal to marine life is undeniable. Her interior compartments now shelter fish and crustaceans; her decks now provide substrate for mussels, soft corals, and plant life; and her newfound productivity has put delicious seafood on many tables.

New Jersey Scuba Diving

Propellers, Shafts & Rudders

Shipwrecks

Artificial Reefs History

New Developments in Artificial Reefs