AH-WR-1850

Finn McCool

Steam Barge · Lost Abandoned in 1964 according to the quoted historical account; exact dockside sinking date is not separately supplied. · Apostle Islands & Western Lake Superior

A wooden lumber barge sank at a Bayfield dock after pump failure and was dragged to a shallow resting place with its loading machinery.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Finn McCool was built at Ashland in 1926 as a wooden steam barge for the lumber trade. Its two-story deckhouse, steam winch, derrick and bucket supported log handling around the Apostle Islands and other south-shore ports. A historical account dates abandonment to 1964 and describes a dockside sinking after pump failure while carrying Oak Island logs. The cargo was salvaged, and Gar How and Nichevo dragged the vessel to another resting place. The undated institutional remains account describes collapsed sides, a missing deck and surviving lifting machinery.

Vessel

Built: 1926
Registry: US registry no. 169725
Builder: Not established
Yard: Ashland, Wisconsin
Material: Wood
Length: 135 ft
Beam: 34 ft
Tonnage: 343 gross tons
Propulsion: Steam; propulsion arrangement not specified
Owners: Originally John Schroeder Lumber Company; Gordon Gilbert of Duluth listed as owner in 1964

Loss

Date: Abandoned in 1964 according to the quoted historical account; exact dockside sinking date is not separately supplied.
Cause: Mechanical failure
Location: Initially a Bayfield slip; subsequently dragged to a separate resting place near Bayfield
Water: Lake Superior
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Logs from Oak Island
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 20 ft
Condition: Undated institutional remains account describes a largely intact lower vessel with outward-collapsed sides, missing deck and lifting machinery generally in place. The shoreward bow has been flattened by ice; part of the boom extends above water.
Orientation: Forward end points toward shore
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Bayfield, Wisconsin
Region: Apostle Islands & Western Lake Superior

Bayfield locality fits existing region. Inventory coordinates lack survey provenance or accuracy in the reviewed account; no calculated position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)

The exact sinking date, casualties, surveyed position and current structural condition are not established.

Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Sea Grant — Wisconsin Shipwrecks: Finn McCool (1926)
Full construction, Service History, Final Voyage, Today and gallery captions: registry 169725; Ashland 1926; wooden steam barge, 135 x 34 ft, 343 gross tons, no masts; lumber service, two-story deckhouse and handling machinery; quoted 1964 abandonment, undated pump-failure dockside sinking, cargo salvage and relocation by Gar How and Nichevo; undated remains in 20 ft, collapsed sides, missing deck, surviving machinery and ice-flattened bow. No casualty figure or independently verified coordinate provenance.