Orange Dragger

We dove this wreck for the first time in June of 2007.  Finding this one was a collaborative effort between myself and Marcie Bilinski, using her boat as the dive platform.  Slav, Marcie and I marked several potential targets in a single day, and I dove this one on the way back in to see what was there.  The wreck appears to be a dragger, approximately 70 ft. in length, with a wooden hull which is fairly broken up but remains sitting upright in 210FSW.  On the first dive I was greeted by the intact wheel still sitting in its mount on the bridge.

I hovered for a few moments to take in the beautiful outline of colorful anemones covering every inch, afraid to touch what I took at first to be a wooden wheel.  Then I wondered - what if? - and scraped the growth away in a small area and was pleasantly surprised to see the gleam of brass.  The wheel still turned on its mount, as the chain had long since rotted away.  The wheel mount remains bolted to a metal deck.

Immediately in front of the bridge is a large winch assembly which is painted a florescent orange color, as is a good portion of the machinery in the forward area of the remaining deck.  A piece of the wooden railing is still painted a stark white.  Netting is hung up in many parts of the wreck likely accounting for its dilapidated condition.

The forward part of the wreck from the bridge on is broken up to a large extent but is still recognizable for what it was.  The remains of the mast and boom lie out to the sides of the wreck, and the raised frame of the hold is still intact in the center of the deck.  A large amount of assorted machinery, pipes and cables mingle with the broken wood.

The visibility was poor on more than one dive to this wreck - no more than 15ft.  Due to the cloudy water, ambient light was very poor.

 The bridge has a metal roof, and that has kept the companionway and center of the wreck intact to some extent.  It's a rather small area, and nothing of any interest can be seen either from the companionway or from in front of the winch where another opening to the wreck allows some access.  Given the size of the area and the seeming unstable condition, going inside is an unlikely prospect.

The aft section of the wreck is in complete ruins, with only a vague outline of the wreck still visible.  In general it's just a mass of jumbled debris, and the prop is buried in the mud.  All in all a nice dive, and another interesting wreck to put an identification to if possible.  Possible clues to the wreck include the bright orange paint on the machinery and decking, and a plastic hard hat I saw but didn't take from the forward part of the wreck.  This would seem to date the wreck from the 60's or 70's and not earlier.