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| David Van Zandt's boat Sea Dragon with Ted Green about to enter water. Rita Montorsi is helping him with fins while Kevin McGee looks on. Cindy LaRosa is already in the water. |
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| The sidescan image of The Craftsman underwater was done by David VanZandt off his boat Sea Dragon. |
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.
Photo of field notes by Annette Soule
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