WEEHAWK - Cardinal, ON
Posted by: 
jiggs11
N 44° 46.616 W 075° 23.988
18T E 468367 N 4958248
Marker recounting the history of the Weehawk, a ferry boat deliberately scuttled in the old Galop Canal lock in 1961
Waymark Code: WMVZR4
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 06/17/2017
Views: 2
The marker is located on the western spit from
Marker text reads:
The ferryboat Weehawk was one of 6 sister ships designed by prominent naval architect Eads Johnson, and built in 1926 by the American Bovers Electric Company of Camden, New Jersey for Electric Ferries Inc.
At a time when most ferries were steam-driven, the Weehawk was one of the first fitted with two diesel engines built by the New London Ship and Engine Co., Groton, Conn.. Each developed 350 horsepower at 280 rpm. This contributed to faster speed and cheaper operation.
The ship measured 44.4M long (145.6 ft) x 11.3M wide (37.1 ft) and could carry 36 cars, 500 passengers. This was a steel-hulled ship with a steel superstructure topped by wooden deck boards.
On its initial trials in 1926, the Weehawk ran at 18.1 km/ (11.1 mph).
The Weehawk was first in service in New York City from 1926 to 1956, carrying passengers and cars across the Hudson River.it was first owned by the Electric Ferries Co., and later by the Westchester Ferries Corp. In December 1956 the Weehawk, along with its sister ship the John J. Walsh, were sold to the St Lawrence Seaway Corp. They were used between Cornwall Island, ON and Rooseveltown, NY. while the new south span of the Seaway International Bridge was undergoing construction, until it opened to traffic in December 1958.
Both ferries were then auctioned off by the St. Lawrence Seaway Corp. to James Zigman of Ogdensburg, New York, who intended to scrap them. However, in 1961 the Weehawk was moved here, where it was scuttled and sunk just west of the filled-in Lock 28."
GPS: N 44 46.615 W 075 23.987
Group that erected the marker: Save Ontario Shipwrecks
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Galop Canal Park
Cardinal, ON CA
K0E1E0
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