Located by Shipwreckworld Aug 2014
The history of the British steamship Nisbet Grammer, the largest steel steamer to have foundered in Lake Ontario, has recently come to light as a team of shipwreck explorers made a significant discovery. Dan Scoville, Jim Kennard, Craig Hampton, and Roland Stevens located the wreckage of the Nisbet Grammer in the depths of over 500 feet of water, approximately thirty miles east of Niagara, New York. The ship met its tragic end while traveling from Port Colburne to Montreal, carrying a valuable cargo of grain. In a dense fog, the Nisbet Grammer collided with the steamship Dalwarnic, leading to its eventual sinking.
The Nisbet Grammer possessed impressive dimensions, with a length of 253 feet, a beam (width) of 43.1 feet, and a depth of 17.9 feet. The ship had a gross tonnage of 1725 and a net tonnage of 1110, indicating its substantial size and capacity. The hold of the vessel could accommodate an impressive 130,000 cubic feet of cargo, making it well-suited for transporting goods across the lake. When fully loaded, the ship had a mean draft of 14 feet, ensuring stability and maneuverability in the water.
Powering the Nisbet Grammer was a surface-condensing inverted triple-expansion steam engine, a state-of-the-art technology at the time. This powerful engine allowed the ship to reach a maximum speed of 10 knots, enabling efficient transportation and trade. The ship’s engines were coal-fired and received fuel from wing bunkers, ensuring a steady supply of energy for propulsion. Two large single-ended Scotch boilers, with a diameter of 12 feet and a length of 11 feet, provided a steam pressure of 180 pounds per square inch to drive the engines, further enhancing the ship’s performance.
The discovery of the Nisbet Grammer sheds light on an important piece of maritime history in Lake Ontario. The wreck’s location and the details surrounding its construction and demise provide valuable insights into the technological advancements and challenges faced by steamships of that era.
