Brief History & Site Description of the Comet

The Site: The Comet (Official Number 5683) was built in 1857 in Cleveland, Ohio by the Peck & Masters Company for the New York Central Railway Co. of Buffalo, N.Y.  It was 182 ft long with a beam of 29 ft and a depth of 12 ft.  It was of course built of wood and had a gross tonnage of 622 tons.

The Comet was lost in a collision with the Canadian propeller Manitoba on August 26, 1875 near Whitefish Point.  Ten lives were lost in the accident.

The Comet lies in 200 to 230 feet of water and presents a rare chance to see intact hogging arches on a shipwreck.  These are the arches that run the length of the ship that for a short time in ship construction history were added to stiffen the ship.  Unfortunately they also made loading and unloading more difficult so were soon replaced with steel re-enforcing straps imbedded in the hull under the planking.  The hogging arches on the Comet are intact and are a great example of how these structures were built.  The mooring brought us down to the stern at the rudder.  Unfortunately much of the cabin structure is now collapsed.  The engine has the name Comet ornately painted on one of the cylinders and there are piles of pig iron ingots lying in the hull.  The stern of the ship supporting the rudder and propeller are intact to the deck although broken cabin walls cover much of the deck area.

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