Steamers (1/5)

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.

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Shipwreck Admiral Dupont
Type:
shipwreck, steamer, USA
Built:
1847, England, as Anglia
Specs:
( 195 x 28 ft ) 750 gross tons, 50 passengers & crew
Sunk:
Thursday June 8, 1865
collision with ship Stadacona - 17 casualties
Depth:
150 ft

Alexander Hamilton

The Alexander Hamilton was the last of the steam-powered side-wheel riverboats of the Hudson River Day Line. Built in 1924, she ceased operations in 1971. A well-meaning group pulled the Hamilton from the mud in 1977 and moved her to a temporary berth along the east side of the Navy pier, planning to restore her as a museum. Unfortunately, at the new more-exposed location, the old vessel was sunk and reduced to scrap by a sudden storm in November of that year. The last records indicate that the wreck is still there, and you can even make out the outline on Google Earth.


Type:
shipwreck, steamer, Britain
Built:
1866
Specs:
( 211 x 29 ft ) 639 tons
Sunk:
Monday October 21, 1867
struck rocks in dense fog - no survivors
Depth:
20 ft

low debris field


Shipwreck Atlantic
Type:
shipwreck, steamer, USA
Built:
May 1846, New York NY USA
Specs:
( 320 x 36 ft ) 1112 gross tons, 75 passengers & crew
Sunk:
Friday November 26, 1846
boiler explosion; then grounded during storm on Fisher's Island - 45 casualties
Depth:
20 ft

Shipwreck Black Warrior
Type:
shipwreck, steamer, USA
Built:
1852, New York NY USA
Specs:
( 225 x 37 ft ) 1556 gross tons
Sunk:
Sunday February 20, 1859
ran aground in fog - no casualties
GPS:
40°25.641' -73°51.135' (AWOIS 2003)
Depth:
35 ft

Shipwreck Bluff's Wreck
Type:
shipwreck, steamer ( assuming it is the Creole ) USA
Built:
1862, Mystic CN, USA
Specs:
( 194 x 34 ft ) 1229 tons
Sunk:
March 17, 1868, ran aground in fog - no casualties
Depth:
20 ft

Type:
shipwreck, steamer, USA
Built:
1867, Wilmington DE USA
Specs:
274 tons (?), 9 crew
Sunk:
Tuesday February 1, 1870
collision with steamer Santiago de Cuba ( 1627 tons) - 2 casualties
Depth:
75 ft

Shipwreck Cassandra
Type:
shipwreck, steamer, USA
Built:
1864, Mystic CT USA
Specs:
( 207 x 35 ft ) 1284 gross tons
Sunk:
Tuesday February 5, 1867
ran aground - no casualties

Shipwreck Champion
Type:
shipwreck, steamer, USA
Built:
1859, Wilmington DE USA
Specs:
( 234 x 31 ft ) 1419 gross tons, 55 passengers & crew
Sunk:
Friday November 7, 1879
collision with sailing ship Lady Octavia - 28 casualties
Depth:
105 ft

Type:
shipwreck, iron-hulled screw steamer, USA
Built:
1884, Scotland
Specs:
( 200 x 27 ft ) 761 gross tons
Sunk:
Saturday July 26, 1890
collision with schooner Zacheus Sherman - no casualties
Depth:
160 ft

contiguous but broken down


Steamers

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Morania Abaco reef
Four explosive charges set by a U.S. Navy demolition team rip holes in the hull of the Morania Abaco on the Atlantic City Reef. ( Photo by Ray Fisk )

Old Ships Make New Homes For Fish

Old vessels make excellent artificial reefs. They provide high profile structure for pelagic fish, low profile structure for demersal fish, as well as surface area for the attachment of mussels, barnacles, tubeworms, and other food organisms. Shipwrecks have been the basis for the state's bottom fisheries which feature sea bass, tautog, ling, cod, and pollock. and for recreational scuba diving activities. The New Jersey coast has a large number of shipwrecks, estimates range from 500 to 3,000. These wrecks are the result of 200 years of maritime disasters and enemy submarine operations during World Wars I and II.

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