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SS Cayuga
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SS Cayuga
45°43′14.34″N 85°11′24.06″W / 45.7206500°N 85.1900167°W
SS Cayuga was a steel-hulled American package freighter in service in the late 19th century. She was built in 1889 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Globe Iron Works Company Cayuga entered service the same year, carrying package freight between Buffalo and Chicago, Illinois, also making stops in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Gladstone, Michigan. Prior to her sinking, Cayuga was involved in two accidents. In the first in 1890, when she went aground in a gale just outside of Buffalo harbour; six tugboats pulled her free that same day. The second accident occurred in 1891, when Cayuga was involved in a collision with the package freighter Delaware near Cheboygan, Michigan.
On the morning of May 10, 1895, Cayuga while bound for Buffalo with a cargo of oats, flour and general merchandise. A thick fog hung over Lake Michigan. As Cayuga neared Ile Aux Galets, her crew spotted the lights of the downbound wooden freighter Joseph L. Hurd. At 4:00 or 4:30 a.m., Joseph L. Hurd struck Cayuga on her starboard side, tearing a hole in her hull; Joseph L. Hurd lost her bow, but was kept afloat by her cargo, while Cayuga sank 25 minutes later. The passing freighter Manola rescued the crews of the two vessels. The steward/cook of Joseph L. Hurd was the only casualty.
The wreck of Cayuga was located later in 1895. Due to her value, multiple attempts to raise her were made between 1896 and 1900 by Captain James Reid of Bay City, Michigan. His efforts were plagued by problems such as decompression sickness, the loss of several steel pontoons, a derrick barge and the alleged death of a hard-hat diver. Cayuga's wreck was re-discovered in the spring of 1969 by John Steele and Gene Turner.
In 1843, the gunship USS Michigan, built in Erie, Pennsylvania, became the first iron-hulled vessel constructed on the Great Lakes. In the mid-1840s, Canadian companies began importing iron vessels prefabricated by shipyards in the United Kingdom. However, it would not be until 1862 that the first iron-hulled merchant ship, Merchant, was fabricated in Buffalo, New York. Despite the success of Merchant, wooden vessels remained preferable to iron ones until the 1880s, due to their affordability and the region's abundance of timber. In the early 1880s, shipyards around the Great Lakes began to construct iron ships on a relatively large scale; in 1882, Onoko, an iron freighter, temporarily became the largest ship on the lakes. In 1884, the first steel freighters were built on the Great Lakes, and by the 1890s, the majority of ships constructed on the lakes were steel.
Cayuga (US official number 126556) was built on the banks of the Cuyahoga River in 1889 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Globe Iron Works Company. The second of five identical sister ships built between 1888 and 1890, she was one of the first steel freighters built on the Great Lakes, as well as the fourteenth steel ship built by the Globe Iron Works Company. Cayuga was named after Cayuga Creek, a stream in western New York.
Cayuga's overall hull length was 308.8 feet (94.1 m) (some sources state 306.8 feet (93.5 m) or 308 feet (94 m)) with a length between perpendiculars of 290 feet (88 m) (one source states 292.2 feet (89.1 m)). Her beam was 40.66 feet (12.39 m) (some sources state 40.8 feet (12.4 m) or 41 feet (12 m)) wide, while her hull was 23.5 feet (7.2 m) (some sources state 22.6 feet (6.9 m) or 25.5 feet (7.8 m)) deep. Cayuga's gross register tonnage was 2,669, with a net register tonnage of 1,939. She had a cargo capacity of about 3,000 long tons (3,000 t); when Cayuga was fully loaded, she had a draft of 16.5 feet (5.0 m).
She was powered by a 1,500-horsepower (1,100 kW) 85 rpm triple expansion steam engine. The cylinders of the engine were 24 inches (61 cm), 38 inches (97 cm) and 61 inches (150 cm) in diameter and had a stroke of 42 inches (110 cm). Steam for the engine was provided by two 11.1 by 12 feet (3.4 by 3.7 m) 160 pounds per square inch (1,100 kPa) Scotch marine boilers. Cayuga's engine and boilers were both built by the Globe Iron Works Company. She was propelled by a single, four-bladed, fixed-pitch propeller and had a top speed of about 14 miles per hour (12 kn). She cost $250,000 (equivalent to $7.88 million in 2024) to build.
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SS Cayuga
45°43′14.34″N 85°11′24.06″W / 45.7206500°N 85.1900167°W
SS Cayuga was a steel-hulled American package freighter in service in the late 19th century. She was built in 1889 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Globe Iron Works Company Cayuga entered service the same year, carrying package freight between Buffalo and Chicago, Illinois, also making stops in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Gladstone, Michigan. Prior to her sinking, Cayuga was involved in two accidents. In the first in 1890, when she went aground in a gale just outside of Buffalo harbour; six tugboats pulled her free that same day. The second accident occurred in 1891, when Cayuga was involved in a collision with the package freighter Delaware near Cheboygan, Michigan.
On the morning of May 10, 1895, Cayuga while bound for Buffalo with a cargo of oats, flour and general merchandise. A thick fog hung over Lake Michigan. As Cayuga neared Ile Aux Galets, her crew spotted the lights of the downbound wooden freighter Joseph L. Hurd. At 4:00 or 4:30 a.m., Joseph L. Hurd struck Cayuga on her starboard side, tearing a hole in her hull; Joseph L. Hurd lost her bow, but was kept afloat by her cargo, while Cayuga sank 25 minutes later. The passing freighter Manola rescued the crews of the two vessels. The steward/cook of Joseph L. Hurd was the only casualty.
The wreck of Cayuga was located later in 1895. Due to her value, multiple attempts to raise her were made between 1896 and 1900 by Captain James Reid of Bay City, Michigan. His efforts were plagued by problems such as decompression sickness, the loss of several steel pontoons, a derrick barge and the alleged death of a hard-hat diver. Cayuga's wreck was re-discovered in the spring of 1969 by John Steele and Gene Turner.
In 1843, the gunship USS Michigan, built in Erie, Pennsylvania, became the first iron-hulled vessel constructed on the Great Lakes. In the mid-1840s, Canadian companies began importing iron vessels prefabricated by shipyards in the United Kingdom. However, it would not be until 1862 that the first iron-hulled merchant ship, Merchant, was fabricated in Buffalo, New York. Despite the success of Merchant, wooden vessels remained preferable to iron ones until the 1880s, due to their affordability and the region's abundance of timber. In the early 1880s, shipyards around the Great Lakes began to construct iron ships on a relatively large scale; in 1882, Onoko, an iron freighter, temporarily became the largest ship on the lakes. In 1884, the first steel freighters were built on the Great Lakes, and by the 1890s, the majority of ships constructed on the lakes were steel.
Cayuga (US official number 126556) was built on the banks of the Cuyahoga River in 1889 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Globe Iron Works Company. The second of five identical sister ships built between 1888 and 1890, she was one of the first steel freighters built on the Great Lakes, as well as the fourteenth steel ship built by the Globe Iron Works Company. Cayuga was named after Cayuga Creek, a stream in western New York.
Cayuga's overall hull length was 308.8 feet (94.1 m) (some sources state 306.8 feet (93.5 m) or 308 feet (94 m)) with a length between perpendiculars of 290 feet (88 m) (one source states 292.2 feet (89.1 m)). Her beam was 40.66 feet (12.39 m) (some sources state 40.8 feet (12.4 m) or 41 feet (12 m)) wide, while her hull was 23.5 feet (7.2 m) (some sources state 22.6 feet (6.9 m) or 25.5 feet (7.8 m)) deep. Cayuga's gross register tonnage was 2,669, with a net register tonnage of 1,939. She had a cargo capacity of about 3,000 long tons (3,000 t); when Cayuga was fully loaded, she had a draft of 16.5 feet (5.0 m).
She was powered by a 1,500-horsepower (1,100 kW) 85 rpm triple expansion steam engine. The cylinders of the engine were 24 inches (61 cm), 38 inches (97 cm) and 61 inches (150 cm) in diameter and had a stroke of 42 inches (110 cm). Steam for the engine was provided by two 11.1 by 12 feet (3.4 by 3.7 m) 160 pounds per square inch (1,100 kPa) Scotch marine boilers. Cayuga's engine and boilers were both built by the Globe Iron Works Company. She was propelled by a single, four-bladed, fixed-pitch propeller and had a top speed of about 14 miles per hour (12 kn). She cost $250,000 (equivalent to $7.88 million in 2024) to build.
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