AH-WR-0846

Providence Island Canal Sloop

Canal Boat · United States · Lost Date of loss unknown · Lake Champlain

A single-masted, coal-laden canal sloop that sank with her rigging still set, opened to divers in 2023 as one of Lake Champlain's newest historic preserves.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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 Providence Island Canal Sloop is an 1862-class sailing canal boat, built to the same general design as General Butler and O.J. Walker but rigged with a single mast rather than two. Her name and the story of her loss have never been recovered despite extensive research. She sank with a cargo of coal still in her hold and now rests in deep water in remarkably intact condition, mast fallen but still attached near its tabernacle. In 2023 the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum opened her as a new preserve dive site.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Registry: Wreck F
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: 86 ft
Beam: 14 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail, single mast
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: Date of loss unknown
Cause: Not established
Location: Off Providence Island, Lake Champlain
Water: Lake Champlain
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Coal
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 85+
Condition: Virtually intact single-masted hull; mast fallen to port with its heel still by the tabernacle; stern cabin intact with roof; original hull paint still visible.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Vermont Underwater Historic Preserve (Lake Champlain)

Position

Coordinates: 44.61° N 73.35° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Providence Island, Lake Champlain
Region: Lake Champlain

General area only: coordinate of Providence Island from USGS topographic data (GNIS feature, Island class), marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.