Atop the floor keelsons are a few remnants of the athwartship ceiling planks, fastened to the floor keelsons with half-inch square nails. Athwartships ceiling  planking was unique to vessels with floor keelsons. Normally, vessels are planked fore-and-aft above the floors, but floor keelsons allow shorter and less expensive athwartship planking. Ceiling planks were not expected to contribute to longitudinal strength, which was provided by the multiple floor keelsons and aided by the basket truss and keelson sandwich plates . It is likely these planks were more easily replaced than traditional fore-and-aft planks and therefore were more desirable at the bottom of the cargo hold, an area that received heavy wear.

The deadwood (triangular timbers in center) strengthened the joint between the keelson and the stern post

The athwartship ceiling planks give way to longitudinal ceiling planks above the turn of the bilge. Several hanging knees , for both the main and weather decks, remain on the portside hull fragment. It is uncertain whether the main deck was planked, but the weather deck certainly was.

The outer hull planking is held in place with drift bolts and clinch rings . The pins extend through the ship's sides from the outer hull planking through the frames and ceiling planking and are fastened with a clinch ring on either end. This fastening system is typical of Davidson's construction, but it is unusual for most Great Lakes wooden vessels. Using through pins was more expensive than the more common method of nailing the outer hull planks to the frames, but Davidson probably used them to make the hull stronger.

The twisted remains of the iron cross-bracing protrude from between the frames and the outer hull planking. This cross-bracing was crucial to building extremely large wooden vessels. It provided the longitudinal strength needed to keep a long hull from sagging or hogging . The iron straps are arranged in a lattice and are fastened with drift bolts where the straps intersect. The drift bolts penetrate the outer hull, frame, and ceiling. Additionally a large iron or steel hogging arch ran from bow to stern, between the planking and frames of the vessel’s sides.

A large four-bladed propeller lies approximately 500 yards to the southeast of the main wreckage. It is of similar design and size to propellers used on comparable Davidson vessels. The starboard hull section rests in the sand in three feet of water, just north of the swimming area.

Underwater visibility varies, depending on lake conditions. With calm water and good sunlight, the Appomattox’s remains can be seen easily from the surface, making the site of interest to snorkelers and kayakers as well as divers. Summer water temperature ranges from 40 to 70° F. The wreck site is N 43° 05.35'  W 087° 52.24', and it is marked seasonally by an official state shipwreck buoy placed by the Wisconsin Historical Society. The Appomattox is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and protected by state and federal laws.

To learn more about the history and construction of the Appomattox and other Davidson vessels, read "Davidson’s Goliaths," by David Copper and John O. Jensen, 1995, Wisconsin Historical Society.