Wooden Steamer Exposed After 100 years

David Trotter of Canton, Michigan uncovers a 133- year old wooden steamer wreck with his team of divers. A shipwreck diver involved in the search claims the steamer sank more than a century ago during a Lake Huron storm.

First discovered by Trotter and his team in May using side-scan sonar from the boat,  it took more than 30 dives to finally reveal the steamer.

The steamer was carrying coal from Detroit to Canada in 1910 when it was hit by a storm. 14 crewmen were rescued from lifeboats in New York.

Trotter has spent 35 years hunting for shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. He has become a renowned shipwreck discoverer, diver, author, and photographer. Trotter and the Undersea Research Associates have discovered more than 90 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes.

According to news sites, Trotter finds this discovery particularly exciting because the 19th century steamer was the largest one ever built.

Trotter hopes to investigate the differences between ships manufactured during the 1800’s to today’s constructions.

The 1879 steamer had twin boilers, a tall mast, and two lifeboats. Divers discovered that the ship had a damaged stern and broken stacks were found a couple of miles away.