Is there private boat diving on Great Lakes?

[Dean810]

I agree with Jack.

Many of the people who dive "the Mac" frequently do penetration as there is much more to see on the inside than on the outside of it.

The Tacoma is a nice small wreck that one should take their time on. Overall it is in decent condition.

In the same general area as the Tacoma and the Material Service Barge (MSB) is the car ferry #2. This was a rail car barge that flipped over near the docks spilling the locomotives (they were recovered) then was towed out a bit when they weren't able to upright it and sank. It's in ~50', IIRC. Later The Army Corps of Engineers dynamited it to prevent from being a navigation hazard so it's mostly flat now and covers ~300' in area.

The Wings of the Wind is a nice wreck in the 45' range. Just the front portion remains with the windlass and bowsprit intact as salvage efforts after the sinking tore the back portions away. The rudder is still in place sticking out of the bottom if you swim back a little.

The Wells Burt is in good condition for it's age and how shallow it is. There is cables and rigging off to the side to see. It sank into the bottom a bit and is listing at about 30*s, the interior is mostly filled with mud but if you are comfortable in tight places you can swim under the decking in many spots. The Windlass and a few deadeyes are still there to see.

The Rotarian is in ~80' water and is pretty flat except for the centerboard.

The Buccaneer was intentially sank a few years back for divers. It's lies about 7 miles due East of Navy Pier at a depth of ~70' with the deck being `50'. Penetration is available for those trained.

Also near Navy Pier is the Flora Hill. She sank in 25' water and was also later dynamited by the Army Corps of Engineers as a navigation hazard. The boiler is still standing and there is a lot to see amid the wreckage.

 

[Diverdon]

I've been diving in the Straights several times including the Cedarville. Yes its a very nice wreck and worth a special trip. Another that I would not hesitate visiting again would be the EB Ward. If you make a weekend of it almost any of the older wrecks are worth visiting, even the Barnum. Personally, I'd do the bow of the Cedarville then run to the Minneapolis during your SI. Another wreck worth visiting is the civil war era wreck Sandusky. If you charter with Larry and Larry from Straights Scuba, you'llfind them very accomodating. I've gone out with them on a couple occasions when there were only a handful of divers aboard. I'd love to go back.

 

[Stoo]

Warning if a private boat owner gets caught doing things for hire without the appropriate documentation HUGE FINES!!!

That isn't entirely true in Canada. If a vessel is under 5 or 6 tonnes gross displacement (I'd need to check to be certain which...), the skipper need not be licensed (other than an operators permit). A prudent one would carry liability insurance of course...

For example, I have a 20' Hurricane RIB. I can legally take out paying passengers, and my liability insurance covers this as long as I keep it to "occasional" amounts. If I was to start doing it on a regular basis, I would need to obtain a commercial rating on my insurance, but according to my insurance guy, that's no biggie...

Also a word of caution about Kohl's book... While it is considered a "Bible" for Great Lakes wreck sites, and it does contain a lot of great information, many of the coordinates are flat-out wrong. I've been using the book for decades, and I suspect that many of the GPS coordinates are calculated from old Loran C numbers... "Close" they are, but "close" isn't great when you are 30 miles out...

A wise fella striking out on his own would do well to verify coordinates from multiple sources unless the site is well-known and marked...

As with so many things, "size matters..."