Craftsman
41.53° N, 82.01° W (rounded) · Ohio waters · lost 1958
- Foundered
- Lives lost: None recorded
41.53° N, 82.01° W · Rounded; not a dive position. Source: Ohio Sea Grant, Shipwrecks & Maritime Tales: Craftsman.[1]
The steel derrick barge Craftsman sank off Avon Point in June 1958 while being towed home to Cleveland after a pipeline job at Huron. Her two crewmen were pulled from the lake by the Coast Guard. Upright in 42 feet of water with her crane nearby, she is now a well-known dive site.
The story
The Craftsman was built in 1921 by the American Shipbuilding Company in Cleveland as a steel derrick barge: a floating platform carrying a crane, used for construction and repair work around harbours and the shore.[1] In 1946 she was rebuilt as a derrick scow by the L.A. Wells Construction Company of Cleveland, which owned her for the rest of her career. Her crane was steam-powered.[1]
In June 1958 she had been working at Huron, Ohio, helping install a gas line. On June 3 she was being towed back to Cleveland by the tug Toledo when she began to founder in choppy water off Avon Point.[1,2] According to a contemporary news report reprinted by Ohio Sea Grant, her two crewmen fought for about an hour to keep the scow afloat before jumping into the lake; the Coast Guard threw them a buoy and rescued both.[1]
The barge lies upright about a mile north of Avon Point in 42 feet of water, on a rock and gravel bottom. Winches, coils of steel cable and deck hatches are visible, and the crane lies about 100 feet to the southeast.[1] The structure attracts fish, so both anglers and divers visit the area. Visibility varies from 20 to 30 feet on good days to less than 5 feet, and the silty surface is easily stirred up.[1]
The Maritime Archaeological Survey Team surveyed and mapped the Craftsman in June 2004, and it is one of the sites where the group has placed a seasonal mooring buoy.[1] Ohio Sea Grant advises against entering the wreck.[1]
Lives lost: The Coast Guard rescued the two crewmen aboard.
Questions people ask
Did anyone die when the Craftsman sank?
No. Her two crewmen jumped into the lake and were rescued by the Coast Guard on June 3, 1958.
How deep is the Craftsman?
About 42 feet, roughly one mile north of Avon Point, Ohio, according to Ohio Sea Grant.
Learn more
Museums and groups are linked for further reading; they are not connected with this site.
Look, don't take
Look, don't take. Shipwrecks and everything on them are protected by law; removing or disturbing anything can be a crime.
- United States: under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act (43 U.S.C. § 2105) the U.S. claims title to abandoned shipwrecks embedded in a state's submerged lands, or resting on them and eligible for the National Register, and transfers that title to the state.[3][4][5]
- Ohio: R.C. 1506.32 requires a permit from the Director of Natural Resources, approved by the Ohio History Connection, to recover, alter, salvage or destroy abandoned property on, in or near a submerged watercraft or aircraft in Lake Erie.[6]
Diving Lake Erie wrecks is dangerous: cold water, poor visibility, depth, entanglement and boat traffic. Nothing here is dive guidance or a dive position. Dive only with proper training, a qualified operator and current information from the groups that maintain moorings.
Nearby lighthouses
- Lorain Lighthouse Tower climbs
- Cleveland Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse View from shore
- Cleveland Harbor East Pierhead Lighthouse View from shore
- Vermilion Lighthouse Grounds open
- Huron Harbor Lighthouse View from shore
Nearby shipwrecks
Nearby · Sponsored
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Sources
- Ohio Sea Grant, Shipwrecks & Maritime Tales: Craftsman, Ohio Sea Grant College Program. Accessed .
- List of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes (Lake Erie section), Wikipedia. Accessed .
- 43 U.S. Code 2105 - Rights of access (Abandoned Shipwreck Act: title to abandoned shipwrecks), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (text of the U.S. Code). Accessed .
- 43 U.S. Code 2101 - Findings (Abandoned Shipwreck Act), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (text of the U.S. Code). Accessed .
- 43 U.S. Code 2102 - Definitions (Abandoned Shipwreck Act), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (text of the U.S. Code). Accessed .
- Ohio Revised Code 1506.32 - Application for salvage permit for submerged watercraft or aircraft, Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Accessed .
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