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.
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A very small wreck, consisting of a primitive single-cylinder steam engine and a large, completely broken-down boiler. Odd pieces of pipe and machinery lie around, but no remains of a hull, although there appears to be some iron plating under the engine. Guessing from the technology, the construction would date to around 1860 +/- 10 years, and the sinking would have been sometime after that.
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bow, boilers, hull plates & ribs
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outline of wooden hull, paddlewheel
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Horton's Point
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by Michael C. Barnette
Poly-chlorinated biphenols (PCBs) and heavy metals ( Pb, Cu, Ni, Cd, Zn, Ag, and Hg ) have become an issue of concern with artificial reef development, as popular reef building materials ( e.g., ex-Navy vessels ) may contain quantities of these toxic materials that may potentially be transferred through the food chain. This transference, or bioaccumulation, may have unforseen effects on the marine environment and, ultimately, human health through consumption of contaminated finfish and shellfish harvested from these reefs. However, thousands of ships have met their demise without the environmental cleansing and preparation that artificial reefs require, perhaps posing a potentially greater health risk to consumers and divers.
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