AH-WR-0433

Shoreham Sloop

Sailing Canal Boat · United States · Lost circa 1825, early Champlain Canal era · Lake Champlain

One of the earliest known Lake Champlain sailing canal boats, its rounded hull bridging traditional lake sloops and the later boxy canal boat form.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Discovered in 2003 in Lake Champlain's South Lake near Shoreham, this circa-1825 vessel was initially thought to be a traditional lake sloop. Further study by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in 2005 and 2006 revealed it to be an early sailing canal boat, built when the type was still experimental. Its rounded hull form, shorter length, and distinct rig set it apart from the standardized flat-bottomed sailing canal boats that followed. The wreck offers rare evidence of the transitional design between lake sloops and later canal boats.

Vessel

Built: 1825
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail; centerboard, mast lowered for canal transit
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: circa 1825, early Champlain Canal era
Cause: Not established
Location: Lake Champlain, South Lake near Shoreham, Vermont
Water: Lake Champlain
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Rounded hull form, unlike boxy later sailing canal boats; former bowsprit present
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 2003
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 43.89° N 73.32° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Shoreham, Vermont
Region: Lake Champlain

General area only: coordinate of Shoreham, Vermont from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel ("Lake Champlain, South Lake near Shoreham, Vermont"), not a surveyed wreck position.