Lake Ontario 213 year old shipwreck.

Here's an Idea ;

   Take a large lexan case .Tint the inside ever so slightly with a mist coat of " Tamiya Sea Blue " Candy overcoat .

   Then cover the base with Model Rail-Road " Fine " ground cover sand. ( H.O.Scale ).

 Now create the debris field . Then insert ship . Cover and seal .You will now have a nice display of a Great Lakes sunken ship with an accurate appearing subject . Add a name - Plate and you are done .     T.B.

Hi Proff !

 Knowing that like many , you understand what would happen if she was brought up , I would steadfastly agree with the idea of leaving her alone .They can and should do as much photo documentation as possible without even touching her though .    T.B.

Unfortunately goldhammer's right. The expense of raising the ship would just be the beginning. Conservation would be astronomically expensive - and even after the initial treatment (which would take several years) the ongoing expenses of preserving the ship would be almost as bad.

I'm reminded of the case of the Hunley. The people who started that project estimated that raising her and conserving her would cost something like $3,000,000. It's now up to more like $50,000,000 (if I remember right), and the job isn't close to finished yet. Whether it ever can be finished completely is a question that makes me nervous.

I'm also reminded of a shipwreck excavation project I saw in Holland about thirty years ago. Much of what's now Holland was under water for hundreds of years, and farmers are still plowing up historic ships in fields. So many have been uncovered that the government has several decades' worth of conservation projects waiting in line. The one I saw was still in the farmer's field. The ship dated from the fifteenth century. A team of highly trained conservators was meticulously taking every piece of metal and wood out of it. They had set up a metal platform over the wreck, so they could take pictures from overrhead every day. As each piece came out, they drew pictures of it, measured it, photographed it, wrote a verbal description of it - and burned it. (I took a couple of iron spikes, which have since rusted almost beyond recognition.) The Dutch were smart enough to realize that the money and manpower necessary for a thorough conservation job on every Dutch shipwreck simply wasn't going to be available before the ships rotted beyond saving.

I agree with goldhammer: this one's better off under fresh water.

The cost to raise her would run to at least a couple of million, and add to that the conservation costs.   Once you pull her out of the water she will start to deteriate and fall apart unless carefully treated and preserved.  While it would be cool to see it done, she is probably better off where she is and the state of preservation she is in.

rwiederrich

I'm wondering if there would be an interest in raising her?

 

Rob

 I'm for That. 

 

Dave

I'm wondering if there would be an interest in raising her?

Rob

You see similar wrecks in the Baltic and the Black Sea. Fresh/brackish water in the Baltic, and an oxygen-free environment in the Black Sea past a certain depth, allow wooden wrecks to just sit there for centuries.

I saw this earlier today. It is incredible how well preserved that this wooden wreck is over 200 years after she sank!