Alger Underwater Preserve & Munising · United States · Wreck · Freshwater
Smith Moore
Steam-barge machinery off Grand Island, with game fish around it
Photo: timlitw · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Smith Moore is a wooden steam barge launched in 1880 and the best-known wreck in the Alger Underwater Preserve. She lies off Grand Island in 21 to 32 m (70 to 105 ft) of Lake Superior water, the deepest of the preserve's main wrecks, and divers go for her machinery and the game fish that gather around it.
Where it is and how deep
46.4556° N, 86.6177° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The Smith Moore sits upright in 21 to 32 m (70 to 105 ft) of water, and the descent reaches her deck at 24 m (80 ft). Along the rail, the boiler house still holds the steamer's giant engine, and open deck hatches give access to the interior and the cargo holds. Much machinery remains on the wreck, with game fish around it, and preserve managers pump away the sand that would otherwise bury the hull.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Smith Moore
- Type
- Wooden steam barge
- Built
- 1880
- Sunk
- 1889
- Cause
- Damaged in a collision and lost while under tow next to Grand Island
- Lies
- In 21 to 32 m (70 to 105 ft) of water, deck at 24 m (80 ft)
The Smith Moore was an early wooden steam barge, launched in 1880. On 13 July 1889 she was damaged in a collision on Lake Superior, outside the bay, and was lost while in tow next to Grand Island. Her wreck is now protected inside the Alger Underwater Preserve.
Marine life and season
- Freshwater fish
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Alger Underwater Preserve & Munising: The diving season runs from mid-May to early October, and charters need booking in advance.
Know before you go
- Deeper, darker and colder than the Bermuda, the Smith Moore is a more taxing wreck to tour than the shallow schooner inside the bay.
Dive videos
Smith Moore shipwreck Alger Underwater Preserve · Great Lakes Shipwrecks and Rescues on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What level of diver is the Smith Moore wreck suited to?+
Intermediate to advanced divers. The deck is at 24 m (80 ft) and the bottom reaches 32 m (105 ft), deeper than the preserve's other main wrecks.
Sources
- Alger Underwater Preserve — Michigan Underwater Preserves Council
- Dive Shipwrecks at the Alger Underwater Preserve — Munising Visitors Bureau
- Michigan Drive and Dive: The Wrecks of Munising — Scuba Diving
Photo credits
- A weathered wooden lighthouse on a sandy, wooded shoreline, seen from the water across calm blue lake by timlitw, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Alger Underwater Preserve & Munising
Wreck
Upright 1870 schooner with open cargo hatches and schools of rock bass
Wreck
A boiler and a bath tub among scattered steamer machinery
Wreck
A gale-wrecked steel freighter from 1929 in shallow water
Wreck
A giant rudder with its depth markings still legible
Three boilers from an 1856 side-wheeler below Spray Falls
Similar dives elsewhere
Bowsprit still extending from an 1852 hull at 32 m
A split 1867 hull down a slope from 8 m to 28 m
A tug broken in two by her own fuel tanks, at 29 m off Brockville
Three moorings: bow, stern and amidships at the crack in the hull