Empire State

Version 1.1. Metadata and presentation revised September 8, 2026; original evidence review retained.

Selected appearance

Brigantine interpretation following NOAA, 1862–1877. NOAA describes a two-masted brigantine, 136 × 25 ft. A secondary compilation instead reports a wider three-masted vessel and an 1874 conversion. This model follows NOAA’s brigantine description; its exact career configuration remains disputed. Six display sails, deck arrangement and canal-like hull form are interpretations, not recovered plans.

Documented evidence

NOAA lists a wooden two-masted brigantine launched by Lewis Shickluna at St.Catharines in 1862. NOAA Empire State record

NOAA wreck dimensions 136×25 ft; a conflicting compilation describes a different rig and proportions. NOAA Empire State record

Reasonable interpretation

Underwater hull lines and draft

Exact colors, fittings, hatch layout and rigging routes

Absolute spar heights and sail shapes

Documented baseline selected. NOAA identifies Empire State as a wooden two-masted brigantine, launched in 1862 by Lewis Shickluna at St. Catharines, with 136 ft wreck length and 25 ft beam. The model scales the hull to 41.4528 × 7.62 m. NOAA dates the North Point Reef loss to November 8, 1877 with iron ore. NOAA Empire State record. Its condition-report vessel table likewise calls Empire State a brigantine. NOAA 2013 report.

Reasonable interpretation. Three square sails on the foremast, one gaff mainsail and two headsails form the chosen six-sail display. NOAA's brigantine label supports the rig family; it does not establish that exact sail inventory, sail cut, topmast arrangement or spar dimensions. The long, full-sided canal-like hull, flat floor and compact aft cabin use comparisons with contemporary canal-sized Great Lakes cargo vessels. The WHS regional canaller study provides that hull-family context; it is not direct evidence of Empire State's bottom, centerboard or fittings. WHS canaller context. Specialized folding catheads, lifting bowsprit hardware and a visible centerboard are not asserted for this ship.

setSails(boolean) controls the sails node, hiding all six canvas surfaces while retaining spars and rigging. Keep the disputed rig/rebuild notice visible beside the model and in a short map-preview caveat. The common name also belongs to unrelated Great Lakes steamers and barges; this package targets only canonical slug empire-state-huron, the Thunder Bay 1877 wreck. The model provides no new evidence for its approximate wreck marker.

Unresolved uncertainties

No complete original lines plan is claimed. Exact loaded draft, concealed surfaces and fine fittings remain interpreted. The earlier research context below retains the source distinctions used for this reconstruction.

Evidence assessment: build a qualified NOAA-based brigantine interpretation. NOAA's vessel record and condition-report table provide a defensible two-masted sailing type and principal dimensions. Those support an overall likeness despite a conflicting secondary career account. This model must not be presented as the conclusively established configuration at loss, or a verified as-built vessel.

Material conflict, unresolved. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Files entry for official number 7816 instead describes a three-masted schooner barge, dimensions 132 × 30 × 12 ft, rebuilt from Empress in 1862, with a bark-to-schooner conversion in 1874. These differences affect mast count, hull proportions and career configuration. No primary enrollment, original drawing or inspected portrait was recovered to reconcile them. The model follows NOAA as the preferred institutional catalogue baseline, not an invented chronology that makes the sources agree. It does not assert that the brigantine form existed before or after a particular refit. Conflicting secondary compilation.

Two hatches, wheel, skylight, deck-stowed boat, anchors, planking, standing/running rigging, window counts and colors are chosen exterior details. No steam propulsion, full interior or visible iron-ore loading is modeled. Unknown hold depth is null; the conflicting secondary 12 ft dimension is not silently adopted. Deck Y=3.65 m and waterline Y=2.55 m are illustrative geometry values, not surveyed draft.

Sources

• NOAA Empire State record
• NOAA 2013 condition report
• Great Lakes Shipwreck Files: Empire State 7816
• WHS canaller archaeological context

Illustration conditions

Lake, shoreline, lighting and weather are artistic staging, not evidence of a specific historical voyage. AI artwork is supplemental; the GLB and direct renders establish the delivered geometry.