AH-WR-0436

Canal Sloop (Wreck C)

Sailing Canal Boat · United States · Lost Date not established · Lake Champlain

A sloop-rigged canal boat, deliberately scuttled after a long working life, whose collapsed hull revealed rare details of 1858-class construction.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Wreck C was located off the New York shore of Lake Champlain during the 1996 Lake Survey Project's side-scan sonar phase and studied in detail by archaeological divers in 1997. At nearly 89 feet long with a 14.5-foot beam, it belongs to the larger class of sailing canal boats built after the Champlain Canal's 1858 lock expansion. No cargo or personal artifacts were found aboard, and heavily worn timbers suggest a long working life; the evidence points to deliberate scuttling once the vessel's usefulness ended.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: 89 ft
Beam: 14.5 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail; centerboard, mast lowered for canal transit
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: Not established
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Lake Champlain, off the New York shore
Water: Lake Champlain
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Poor; bow and stern relatively intact but both sides collapsed
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1996
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Lake Champlain, New York shore
Region: Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum's page on Canal Sloop (Wreck C) describes its discovery off the New York shore during the 1996-97 Lake Survey but does not publish GPS coordinates; this vessel is not part of the public preserve system and no other source with coordinates was found.