AH-WR-0845

Diamond Island Stone Boat

Canal Boat · United States · Lost Exact date unknown; 19th century · Lake Champlain

A stone-laden canal boat that broke apart on the rocky shore of Diamond Island, now a shallow, beginner-friendly preserve dive.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

The Diamond Island Stone Boat is one of hundreds of unpowered wooden canal boats that once moved cargo across Lake Champlain and through the Champlain Canal. Her name and owner have never been identified. She went down fully loaded with quarried stone, most likely after drifting from her tow or opening her seams under the cargo's weight, and drove onto the rocky shoreline of Diamond Island. She has since been designated part of the Lake Champlain Underwater Historic Preserve.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: 93 ft
Beam: 14 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: None, towed
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: Exact date unknown; 19th century
Cause: Not established
Location: Off Diamond Island, Lake Champlain
Water: Lake Champlain
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Quarried stone, filling the hold stem to stern
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 12-20
Condition: Sides broken down by decay and winter ice and now lie flat on either side of the hull; stone cargo still stacked over the frames.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Vermont Underwater Historic Preserve (Lake Champlain), managed by Lake Champlain Maritime Museum for the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation

Position

Coordinates: 44.23° N 73.33° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Diamond Island, Lake Champlain
Region: Lake Champlain

Dive-resource listings (UnderwaterUSA.com dive chart and Shipwreck World GPS map) both place this Vermont Underwater Historic Preserve wreck just southeast of Diamond Island in Lake Champlain at approximately 44°14.1'N 73°20.0'W; these are hobbyist/dive-charter coordinates rather than a museum-published GPS position.