| History | |
|---|---|
| Canada | |
| Name | Robert Gaskin |
| Launched | 1863 |
| Fate | Sank 18 September 1889 |
| General characteristics | |
| Length | 132 ft (40 m) |
| Beam | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Draft | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
Robert Gaskin is a ship wreck in the St. Lawrence river outside of the town ofBrockville, Ontario. The ship was being used to recover the wrecked train ferryWilliam Armstrong.[1] Lift pontoons were being lowered to help provide lift capacity to raise theArmstrong, but a chain connecting theArmstrong to a pontoon broke—as it came to the water's surface the pontoon struck theGaskin . There was no loss of life when the Gaskin sank.[2] There was an initial concern that theGaskin struck theArmstrong and would have prevented the salvage of theArmstrong. TheGaskin, however, landed sufficiently far away that it did not damage theArmstrong.
Equipment on theGaskin's deck was recovered. On 11 November 1889, an attempt was made to raise theGaskin. However, a lift pontoon failed as theGaskin was reaching the surface.[3] TheGaskin sank again, this time landing close enough to theArmstrong that the salvage of theGaskin would have needed to be completed before salvage of theArmstrong could continue.
The final attempt to raise theGaskin occurred on 25 November 1889. A lift pontoon attached to the rear of theGaskin failed. The salvage of theGaskin was abandoned.
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