Cleveland Underwater Explorers CLUE

DIVE TEAM SURVEYS SHIPWRECK WITH
FUNDING FROM ODNR COASTAL
MANAGEMENT GRANT

LORAIN, OH - The Maritime Archaeological Survey
Team (MAST) recently conducted an archeological
survey of a barge that sank in Lake Erie near Lorain 46
years ago, according Ohio Department of Natural
Resources (ODNR). MAST is a non-profit corporation
associated with both the Great Lakes and Ohio
historical societies.

Mapping of the Craftsman, now resting 40 feet below
the surface, took place in late June. Maps will allow
recreational divers and researchers to better study the
wreck as part of a larger Great Lakes shipping history
project. An $11,000 grant from the ODNR Office of
Coastal Management funded the effort.

The Craftsman barge was built in the Cleveland yard of
the American Shipbuilding Company in 1921. She was
reduced to a derrick scow in 1946, with the original
dimensions changed and a crane added. Over the years,
the barge worked on coastal breakwater projects and
the construction of the Vermilion Lagoons. While being
towed back to Cleveland, the 90-foot craft foundered
and sank off Avon Point on June 3, 1958. Her remains
were the focus of this survey.

A total of 45 divers participated in the mapping. The
dive area, located about a mile off Avon Point, was
appropriately marked and boaters were urged to avoid
those waters while diving operations were underway.
MAST is dedicated to the documentation of Ohio's
underwater historic resources. In past years, MAST
surveyed wrecks of the Adventure, the W. R. Hanna
and the F. H. Prince in western Lake Erie. Based on
these surveys, dive slates were printed describing the
vessels, cause of wrecking and a current site plan. A
similar slate is being planned for the Craftsman.