Maud L – Lake Huron Tug Shipwreck (1915)

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: Maud L
• Type: Small wooden propeller-driven steam tug
• Year Built: 1907
• Builder: C. W. Menten
• Dimensions: 75 ft × 15 ft × 6 ft (23 m × 4.6 m × 1.8 m)
• Registered Tonnage: 48 gross tons, 33 net tons
• Location: Vail’s Point, near Owen Sound
• Official Number: C126265
• Original Owners: C.E. and E.S. Pratt, Parry Sound, Ontario

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

Maud L was a small, wooden-hulled propeller tug, likely used in harbor and nearshore operations around Parry Sound and Owen Sound. Her compact dimensions and light tonnage marked her for tasks such as towing barges, salvage operations, or ferrying lighter loads.

Description

Maud L was a small, wooden-hulled propeller tug, likely used in harbor and nearshore operations around Parry Sound and Owen Sound. Her compact dimensions and light tonnage marked her for tasks such as towing barges, salvage operations, or ferrying lighter loads.

History

As a small tug, it likely supported local steamers and schooners servicing Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, assisting with towing, docking, and perhaps logging or construction-related operations under Pratt ownership.

Early 20th-century Ontario tugs were particularly vulnerable to galley or boiler fires—common hazards due to wooden superstructures and early steam technology. Her loss underscores the intrinsic fire risk in such vessels.

Significant Incidents

• Type of Loss: Burned to a total loss by fire.
• Casualties: None reported.
• Details: She caught fire at or near Vail’s Point. The blaze consumed the vessel completely, leaving no salvageable structure. She was officially declared a total loss. No records indicate she carried any cargo at the time of the incident.

Final Disposition

Vail’s Point (now part of Owen Sound’s waterfront area). Records indicate her documents were surrendered, but no underwater surveys, salvage attempts, or diving reports have been logged. Potential remains may lie in shallow nearshore waters or may have been cleared for hazard mitigation; not currently recorded as a dive-worthy or heritage site.

Current Condition & Accessibility

Potential remains may lie in shallow nearshore waters or may have been cleared for hazard mitigation; not currently recorded as a dive-worthy or heritage site.

Resources & Links

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The Maud L was a modest yet essential part of early 20th-century inland steam operations in Georgian and Lake Huron waters. Her total-loss fire at Vail’s Point in December 1915 highlights the vulnerabilities of wooden steam tugs of the era. While small and undocumented compared to larger shipwrecks, Maud L represents an interesting, localized maritime story deserving more archival and potential archaeological attention.