Let me start this off by saying I’ve never even been in a kayak before, but I am planning my first trip. I plan on getting some experience in before then, but as of now-I know nothing about kayaking. I was inspired to learn because of a series of photos I saw posted online here:
http://imgur.com/a/WVnsY
It’s the abandoned ship, USS Sschem. It’s served in both world wars, as well as being used as a tourist liner in NYC. More info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Sachem_(SP-192)
I knew I wanted to go. I’ve looked it up online and I have no CLUE how to access it. It seems like the only access is from the Ohio river itself, but is that even safe? From the videos I’ve found on Youtube, the journey looked really low impact and easy going. I thought it would be a good starting point for a beginner. But I totally need help planning this out. How to get in etc.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=USS+sachem&ie=UTF-8&ei=WonQUrTqFYGMygHBg4G4Bg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg
If anyone else has made this trip/can give a clueless newbie some advice, I’d be so appreciative. I really want to do this. Thank you 
guided tour?
I don’t know the area, so am not sure. But is there a kayak company in the area that does guided tours to this boat? If the main goal is to see it, the easiest way is to skip all the boat and gear purchases and education on how to kayak and such and just get someone to take you there and give you the basic education you need to do that on site. it is a stock answer for me to tell someone to get butt time (through classes, renting, etc.) before buying kayaks, and in this case that butt time could meet you immediate need (and give you a start toward a love of kayaking, if that is your destiny).
Unfortunately, abandoned ships are all over the place in our waterways. We have a destroyer in the middle of the South end of the San Francisco Bay that is paddle-able to, and one of its sister ships rammed up in the mud along the Napa River. If you do get into paddling, you will find all sorts of ships like this.
Thanks!
I do plan on getting in time. I had a feeling that would be one of the first responses! Yeah, seeing the ship is what got me interested in the idea of kayaking so I don’t know yet if it will be a love of mine. I hope it will be. Believe me, I am a wuss and don’t want to jump into anything willy nilly that could get me hurt. I don’t think there is a guided tour, but the guy who took the initial pics that I posted here offered to take me if I wanted to go. I work on a Naval base that does kayak rentals starting soon, so I think I am going to start there and paddle around the giant lake on Crane and get a feel for it.
He DID give me some advice, though on how to get there. He launches from the Indiana side and paddles across the Ohio. He said that the current getting there can be a bit tough, but a newbie should be able to handle it. And getting back was cake.
Thanks so much for the help. I will look more into guided tours there to see if someone has them. And I’m actually happy to know that there are other abandoned ships out there to explore. It makes it all the more intriguing!
some more stuff to get you intrigued…
Here is some details on the two destroyers I mentioned: http://destroyerhistory.org/flushdeck/today/
(the pics of the Thompson are actually by me).
I remember paddling down the Columbia River and coming across a landing craft in Oregon. Actually in decent shape, unlike those destroyers.
Those are amazing
I love abandoned buildings and things. Nature has totally reclaimed them. Now that I know that it is a possible trip for me to make, I’m excited to learn more about the basics of safety/equipment etc. Should be an interesting next six months!
Speaking of derelicts.
The Columbia River does seem to have more than its share of abandoned ships, boats barges and ferries. For the most part they are in back waters and although they are curiosities, I sure wish they would go away. Some of them sink and apparently are there for ever. I have witnessed a few attempts at salvaging some of them, but apparently it isn’t worth the trouble, because most are just given up on.
I have done my share though; I have salvaged two abandoned cheepo plastic kayaks and I know where there are several fiberglass power boats–some sunk and some hiding in the weeds.
pic of gthe landing craft
Dropbox was having some sort of problem, so I wasn’t able to post photos before of the landing craft. But it seems to be working now. Here is the landing craft we saw on the Columbia River. I don;t think it was abandoned, but actually put there as they worked on restoring it.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4637993/ColumbiaRiverLandingCraft-posted140110.JPG
Here is hat Wikipedia says about that ship: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Washtenaw_County_%28LST-1166%29
The Sailor in me begs you
Don’t call Her a landing craft. She carried landing craft inside. Landing craft are also known as Higgins boats
Yeah, that one is an LST
My dad was an officer on an LST during the Korean war, and his ship and most other LSTs of the time were leftover from WWII. The one in that photo is interesting because it looks newer than the WWII models because it has several times as much volume in the above-deck structures, as well as what appears to be a pair of anchoring spuds to hold the ship in place when beached. For those with an interest in such things, that rail along the length of the hull just a little above the water is a support for barges, which are stored against the hull by tipping them up on edge (with the lower edge of the barges hooked on that rail). The whole set of multiple barges (which where stored on both sides of the ship) could be tipped down into the water and assembled into a long "causeway" for getting vehicles and tanks onto beaches that were too shallow to allow the ship to come in close enough for the bow to touch shore.