Thunder Bay · United States · Wreck
Monohansett
A burned steamer in 5.5 m, readable from the surface
Photo: National Marine Sanctuaries · Public domain
A wooden steam barge that burned off Thunder Bay Island in November 1907, after an oil lantern tipped over and fire spread through a ship loaded with coal. The 49-metre hull now lies in 5.5 metres of clear water with the boilers, machinery and an intact stern and propeller all easy to read. It is one of the sanctuary's most visited wrecks, dived, snorkelled and paddled over.
Where it is and how deep
45.0333° N, 83.1998° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
You are on the wreck as soon as you are off the ladder — the whole site is inside 5.5 metres, and on a calm day the hull shows through the water before anyone gets wet. The wooden hull lies open in clear, shallow water, which makes it unusually easy to read: frames and planking laid out flat, with the boilers and machinery standing among them.
Swim the length of the 49-metre barge and the machinery does the rest. The boilers sit exposed on the bottom, and the stern is intact with its propeller still in place, the one part of the ship that still clearly looks like a ship. Light is never the problem at this depth, so it is a straightforward photography dive and a good way to spend a long, shallow second tank after something deeper offshore.
Expect company. This is one of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary's most popular shipwreck sites, visited by divers, snorkellers, swimmers, paddlers and a glass-bottom boat, so keep a flag up and listen before you surface. Nothing on the wreck may be moved or taken; everything inside the sanctuary is protected and stays where it lies.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Monohansett
- Type
- Wooden steam barge
- Length
- 49 m (161 ft)
- Built
- 1872
- Sunk
- 1907
- Cause
- Caught fire after an oil lantern tipped over and a blaze spread through the wooden hull
- Lies
- In clear, shallow water off Thunder Bay Island: hull, boilers, machinery and an intact stern and propeller
Monohansett was launched in 1872 by Linn and Craig at Gibraltar, Michigan, and was carrying coal when it sheltered behind Thunder Bay Island during a storm on 23 November 1907. An oil lantern had tipped over, and a blaze spread quickly through the old wooden ship. The only lifeboat aboard, a small yawl, would not have held all 12 crew members; the Thunder Bay Island Life-Saving Station reached the burning steamer and took every one of them off.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Thunder Bay: The season runs late May to early October, with July and August warmest; the lake is unworkably cold and rough otherwise.
Know before you go
- The site is busy with snorkellers, paddlers and a glass-bottom tour boat, so surface traffic is the main risk: fly a flag and look up before ascending.
- A shallow wreck tempts a very long dive, and that is how divers get cold here; set a turn time before you get in rather than working to gas alone.
Photos from Monohansett
National Marine Sanctuaries · Public domain
Dive videos
Shipwreck of the Monohansett · divenatty on YouTube
ROV footage on the shipwreck Monohansett · Tim Parsell on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Can you snorkel the Monohansett?+
Yes. The wreck lies in 5.5 metres of clear water and is one of the sanctuary's most popular sites for snorkellers, swimmers and paddlers as well as divers, with a glass-bottom tour boat visiting it too.
How deep is the Monohansett wreck?+
About 5.5 metres, all of it. That keeps the site inside Open Water limits and leaves plenty of light for photography, though Lake Huron is cold enough that exposure protection, not depth, sets how long the dive lasts.
Sources
- Monohansett Shipwreck — NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Photo credits
- Large four-bladed bronze propeller of the burned steamer Monohansett resting on the lake bed by National Marine Sanctuaries, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Split-level shot of a diver by a channel marker over the shallow wreck, water surface visible above by National Marine Sanctuaries, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Freshwater diving: lakes, springs and quarriesFreshwater · 15 min read
More dive sites in Thunder Bay
Wreck
Ghost schooner upright at 56 m, masts still standing
Wreck
Steering wheel and chained windlass on a broken schooner
Wreck
The sanctuary's largest wreck, 162 m and inverted
Wreck
An intact 1848 schooner on an even keel at 56 m
Wreck
Three masts still on deck at 63 m
Upright steel freighter with engine and boilers still in place
Wreck
A Great Lakes freighter lying inverted at 53 m
An 1862 schooner in 18 m on a mooring buoy
Similar dives elsewhere
Remains of the largest wooden steamer on the Great Lakes, in 5 m
Wreck
Bermuda
Alger Underwater Preserve & Munising · United States
Upright 1870 schooner with open cargo hatches and schools of rock bass
Wreck
Breconshire Wreck (Boiler Wreck)
Treasure Coast · United States
A boiler standing out of the water about 90 m off the beach
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
A sunken tuna trawler that gathers bull sharks in season.