Wisconsin's Great Lakes Shipwrecks - Explore Shipwrecks


	bilge
	1. Part of the underwater body of a ship between the flat of the bottom and the straight vertical sides. 2. Internally, the lowest part of the hull, next to the keelson.


	futtock
	A curved or vertical timber that when paired with a floor or additional futtocks makes the frame of a wooden ship.


	keelson
	A structure of timbers or steel beams that are bolted to the top of a keel to increase its strength. Also spelled kelson.


	stanchion
	An upright wooden or metal post on a ship; supports the ship's bulwarks, railing or deck.


	cant frames
	Angled frames in the extreme forward or aft ends of a ship which form the sharp ends of the vessel's hull.


	centerboard
	A metal or wooden slab housed in a casing or trunk along the centerline of a sailboat; may be lowered to increase the boat's resistance to sideways motion and raised when the boat is in shallow water or beached.

Wisconsin's Great Lakes Shipwrecks - Explore Shipwrecks - Carrington

CARRINGTON

Depth:

32-57 feet |

Condition:

The vessel's remains lie scattered about 0.8 miles from shore on a rocky bottom.

Lying in approximately 32 to 57 feet of water, the wreck of the Carrington is accessible by boat. The vessel lies on the north side of Hat Island Shoals in the waters of Green Bay at N45.05.07, W87.19.02. The location is marked by a blue-striped white buoy indicating a site maintained by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

A portion of the outer hull and frames

Broken in several sections spread over approximately 42,000 square feet, the Carrington sits on an area of lakebed consisting of stone cobbles, sand patches, and some large boulders. The sections have been flattened out, probably by ice action. The upper bow, stern, deck and port side are missing from the site. Based upon reports by sport divers, these sections may be located in deeper water than the main wreck sections. A few pigs of iron remain in crevices. However, the site was partially salvaged not long after sinking and has suffered extensive looting in modern times, compromising its archaeological integrity. Storms and other natural processes have also taken their toll on the vessel. Nevertheless, the wooden schooner Carrington endures as a testimony to the tremendous changes in the art of ship building that have occurred since 1853.

There are three main sections to the Carrington site.

Section A. At 57 feet below the surface, the forward end of the Carrington's 98-foot bilge section is the deepest part of the site. This section is the largest and most intact of the wreck and includes the keel, floors, and futtocks (the vessel was double-framed), and keelsons . Notches for mast steps, deck stanchions , and cant frames can be clearly discerned in the extant keelsons. Of special interest in this bilge section are the pocket pieces forming the lower off-set centerboard trunk. The off-set centerboard is unusual for a vessel of this vintage. This construction was more common in earlier Great Lakes schooners.

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