Carlson II ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

Carlson II

Well, it's that time of year again, time to renew the web hosting. And for those of you that don't know, that has become a lot more expensive than it used to be. Fifty dollars a year is now several hundred. Not to mention the price of domain names has gone up ten-fold.

And I just found out that the nice folks at PayPal disabled all my Support buttons, and I never got a notice (although that may be my fault.) In any case, it is all working again now, so if you would like to make a small donation to help defray these costs, it would be greatly appreciated.

Type:: artificial reef, trawler
Specs:: ( 70 ft )
Sponsor:: Axel Carlson Jr.
Sunk:: June 1973 - Sea Girt Artificial Reef
GPS:: 40°06.805' -73°57.176'
Depth:: 70 ft

If the date is correct, then this would be the earliest "modern" artificial reef sunk off New Jersey, sunk by the Artificial Reef Committee before the state's reef program began. I've never been able to find a newspaper record of the sinking.

While this vessel has always been referred to as a trawler, it looks a lot more like a tugboat to me. I don't see any deck space for fishing, and the large cutout in the roof is typical of a tugboat reef - to remove the engine. Nor do I see a cargo hold. It looks like maybe the pilothouse has been cut off and placed in the stern. The stubby hull and rounded stern also look a lot more like a tugboat than a fishing boat.

By now, all the upper works will be gone, the hull will be basically a bathtub. The towing bits will last a thousand years, and if I'm right, they're still there. If anyone ever dives this spot, please let me know. I really see a tugboat in this picture.

Artificial Reef Sites, Artificial Reefs, Early Artificial Reefs, New Jersey Artificial Reef Sites, New Jersey Artificial Reefs, Sea Girt Artificial Reef, Trawlers,