Video clip of 28' Laker-Wolfboro
 

This is one of 4 wrecks I found in one morning around Memorial Day; About 270 feet away from this Laker is a very old 25' barge, about 25 feet north west from that a steamer about 22' long, and about 75 feet north of that another steamer about 24' long. None of these are the wrecks on the Bizer chart.

The side-scan images at the beginning show a thin white line that got me going; I know what these little lines can sometimes be (wrecks) and often they turn out to be nothing but I had other ideas about this one so dove it and found this wreck.

As to the Laker being a Laker, I found a reference identifying it as such on an old map Senter Cover guy and I found while doing research on the steamer Seneca at the Tuftonboro Historical Society last year (I thank them for their help). It could be something different but for the moment I'm calling it a Laker. Pretty neat wreck-has engine components on board identifying the engine as being made by the Toppan Boat Co., Boston MA. By any measure this thing is old.

Senter Cove Guy has tied all of these wrecks together with surveyors tape so they can all be seen on one dive without surfacing.

I will post videos as I can upload them-takes as long as 4 hours to upload to YouTube due to file size.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbnnD...ature=youtu.be

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zbnnDpimc_0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

As always, great video. Thanks. Word of caution to any who dive this wreck -- it's very fragile, so don't poke it too much. I was on the dive when we ran tape from this one to the next, and I tied my wreck reel to the bow through the hole visible at 1:21 of the video. The wood is spongy and loose, so I was afraid the reel line would break free while we were looking for the next wreck. Luckily, it held and didn't damage the spot where I tied in.

Toppan Power Dorey?
 

Looks like this?

Yes! Sure does.

Let's raise her!
 

I'm sure that'll buff right out!:laugh:

Side scan shots of the Laker
 

Boat is in upper right of image, something else in lower left of image; Thin white horizontal line is a marker flag and line on the wreck around which I scan for multiple images.

Going by the numbers on the pictures how close to the wreck would you be and is it fairly easy to find? So are all four tied together now?

Four Wrecks
 

Find the laker in 58 feet at N43 34.507, W71 13.259 and then follow the marked trail to the other 3 wrecks. The wrecks are very fragile, the area is very silty and about 52 degrees.

Diver1111, have you ever caught anything on your side scan that might be a one horse open sleigh? WinnipesaukeeDiver told a great story about finding one in Wolfeboro. If you ever come across it, I'd love to see a video or pictures of it. Thanks.

As posted by WinnipesaukeeDiver...

One day my old dive buddy Cliff suggests we do an exploratory dive in Wolfeboro Bay to find the reputed “One Horse Open Sleigh” that went through ice about a hundred years ago. “Won’t this make a great dive site to take accomplished students”, he said. I thought to myself, “What’s wrong with this picture”? The thought of two of us exploring the bottom of Wolfeboro bay; looking for something that had been lost and written about in a book a hundred years ago. What’s the chance of finding this relic? But, any reason to go exploring is good enough, besides we could find all sorts of other lost treasures.

It didn’t take long to find it, maybe the second or third dive and there it was right where the book said it was. It was a black sleigh with red pin stripping sitting upright on the bottom. How cool is that? The harness was still attached and both Cliff and I had the same idea at same time. There must be some brass buckles, bells and adornments somewhere and we started to pull them up out of the murky bottom. I watched as Cliff followed a section the harness out for a ways, tugging it up into view. He finally got to the end and gave a big yank and the whole horse’s head popped up out of the bottom… The look on Cliff face was priceless as he gasped for air and lurched back, I heard a muffled scream as he couldn’t drop it fast enough. Cliff signaled to me with a diagonal hand slash across his chest ending with a fist and thumb up; meaning this dive is over, right now. As we began our assent back to the surface, Cliff’s eyes were as big as saucers while he kept shaking his head form side to side and our rapid ascent alarms were chipping all the way up. Once on the surface Cliff spit out is regulator and gasped for fresh air. I said, “Wow that was some find; what are you going to do with your horse head?” Cliff’s only comment was, “I’ve had enough let’s get out of here”.

The “One Horse Open Sleigh” is still down there complete with the harness, brass buckles, bells and adornments and yes, the horse. We never did take any students to the site; Cliff thought it might be too intense for new divers, besides it’s a little deep and in the middle of the bay. I never could find the site again, its deep, dark and cold down there and the visibility is so poor I could have swam right past it on several occasions and never seen it.

One Horse Open Sleigh
 

Hans, this should be your next dive! :D

Thanks SunsetPointWentworth! Cool story.

That is a great story, Sunset. I have heard about that sleigh and it was so much fun to read about it.

I wonder what happened to WinnipesaukeeDiver? He had some great stories to tell. He was one of the few divers that dove the burned out remains of the original Mount Washington. If I remember correctly, he didin't have fun on the dive though. Deep, cold, dark, with a lot of things to get snagged on. Grant is friends with him. Hope he is OK.

I see him on Facebook.
 

He has sold Valkarye (sp?), his sailboat. He and his family were staying at an RV park in Alton recently. He seems to be doing quite well. Don't know how much diving he is doing these days.

Here I am!
 

I'm still following along with you guys.
Uppie is right, I had to give up boating due to a degenerative nerve problem in my hip. I had actually fallen off my boat a couple of times because I couldn't compensate with the pitching and rolling of the deck. So, I've moved on (as they say) to a land yacht and traveling a lot (seeing this wonderful country of ours).

Do I miss the lake? No, not really... (at least, that's the lie I'm telling myself). After cruising the lake for 35 years, what do you think? I only check in on this site every once in a while, like every day.

Diving has taken a big turn down as well, what with no boating access and the problem with the hip. Also I'm afraid I won't be able support the weight of the dive equipment as well. However, my dive buddies keep inviting me to join them. But with the new (retired) life style there's very little time to devote to the sport.

I was up to the lake staying at the new Turtle Kraal RV Park in Alton a couple of weeks ago. What a great place to stay at. While there, I took my new boat down to the bay and did some Yaking up the river and out into the bay. It's not like the good ole days, but at least I didn't have far to fall.

Glad to see that you are OK. Sorry to hear about the hip though :( If you have anymore diving stories, I'd love to hear them. Along with everyone on the site I'm sure. Do you have any photo's of the original mount? I mean from the dive on it that you did. From your description it was pitch black, but I was hoping you had a deep sea camera with some kind of flashbulb? I know from your story and even from the photo's of the weirs pier, after the fire. That there must not be much left that's recognizable, but it would still be cool to see any pictures. The following photo was posted by Rattlesnake Gal in this link and I believe it is from the Mcdude Collection http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...eirs+pier+fire

I found these references to Toppan engines/Toppan boats-Boston MA.

Engine design is exactly the same as the engine remains in this wreck.

Oddly enough there is a reference to the Truscott Engine Co. (Detroit) with a nearly identical brass badge design.

Ads are from 1909 and 1913.