The remains of two 19th century canal boats were discovered by shipwreck hunters off New York in Lake Ontario, the Associated Press has learned, a discovery experts say is unusual because such boats were not designed for use in open water.
Using side-scan sonar, the shipwreck hunters from New York found a 65-foot long canal boat and another 78-foot long boat under the water situated between Oswego and Sackets Harbor, Jim Kennard, who found the boats along with two team members, told the AP on Wednesday.
Kennard and his colleagues, Roger Pawlowski and Roland Stevens, poured over records of 600 shipwrecks in Lake Ontario for information on the vessels. No mention of either boat was found.
"They aren't supposed to be there," Kennard, from the Rochester area, told Syracuse.com. "What is a canal boat doing out here?"
Even more mysterious, the two shallow-draft vessels don't seem to have a name. The team found the wrecks last year but held off on announcing the find until they were certain they were canal boats.
"We like to put a name to these boats first, but we haven't been able to identify them," Kennard told Syracuse.com.
The explorers believe the boats' origins date back to the 1850s when the Erie Canal was being extended to make room for wider ships. The Erie Canal and Lake Ontario are connected through the Oswego Canal.
The boats, found 200 feet underwater, likely met their fate during a sudden change in weather on Lake Ontario, which is common for the lake, Kennard told the AP. The owners probably had the vessels towed by steamboat across the lake when the cargo shifted and caused irreparable damage.
"They took a chance, it didn't work," Kennard told the AP.
