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Click below for video of wreck site:

 (2) Unidentified wreck -- Lake Minnetonka - YouTube 

During my work volunteering with Maritime Heritage Minnesota, one of the wrecks that was on our search list during our work in Lake Minnetonka was the Rush, a steamer that operated on the lake in the late 1800s.

The Rush appeared on Lake Minnetonka in 1887. A very unconventional design, she was a side-wheeler with aft sidewheels.  Most paddle wheelers were either side wheelers (in which the paddle wheels were mounted on both the starboard and port sides of the ship about midship) or stern wheelers (where a single paddle wheel was mounted off the stern of the vessel).

The Rush was reportedly about 50 feet long with a beam of about 8 feet. However, as one can see in the photo, it was probably much less than 50 ft in length – probably closer to 25-30 ft. It had a single engine. 

The Rush remained in service on the lake until 1895 when, according to written accounts, it was abandoned in Robinson’s Bay.

Very little information exists about the Rush. Only a single photo and very little record has been found.

The Discovery

On a recreational dive on 9/27/22 in Lake Minnetonka, MN, I came across an area that I have come to recognize as a potential wreck site based on past work.

What I saw were wooden fragments and a large section that appeared to form the side of a boat.

Buried in the sand and covered by the weeds growing up though and around the site, it was hard to tell if this was a wreck or not.

In order to make a more significant search of the site, multiple dives would need to be made. So the initial problem was establishing a specific location for this site so that I could return to it. I had previously invented a device called NavDive which allows a diver to record GPS coordinates from any location while underwater. Unfortunately, I did not have NavDive along on this dive.

The second problem I had was that I did not have an underwater camera along on this dive, so I was unable to capture any images of what I had found.

I surfaced over the site and made a couple of visual reference points on land that I could use as general bearings to hopefully find the wreck again and headed for shore.

A week later, I dove site again. A technical problem occurred with NavDive, so I had to find the wreck using the visual bearings I had previously taken. On this dive I widened the search area to see if I could find more of the wreck.  Based on what I found, I'm now fairly sure this is the Rush -- it is a very old wooden wreck and it is very large. I think I've found over 20 feet of it. The bow seems to be mostly intact, but I cannot find the stern section yet. 

Some decking is now visible.

I also had brought my GoPro camera with me on this dive and I began to record video of some of the main elements that were exposed. I began to see that this was definitely a wreck. I carefully pulled some weeds to expose more of what appeared to be the starboard side along with some "railing". The wreck is badly broken up but appears to be a pretty good sized vessel.

Dove again. I used NavDive to get back to the site this time -- the GPS numbers previously obtained look good.

I investigated more of the port side -- to the point to where there seemed to be a break. It is either the beginning of the stern or just a break in the port side -- not sure which.

I haven’t measured anything yet, but I am estimating that from the bow to the breck in the post side, the distance is at about 20 feet.

Also found and photographed what appears to be the transom. It is wineglass shaped and about 3-4 feet in width at the top.

The width of the transom does call into question that this is the Rush. The only existing photo of the Rush seems to show a squared-off stern that is probably much wider than 3-4 feet, although the photo is very grainy and it is difficult to make out the detail. It could very possible be that the Rushtapered to a relatively narrow stern.

The transom is completely detached from the wreck and its position may not indicate the end of the wreck. The transom could have become detached before the sinking and it may have fallen randomly onto the top of the wreck. I believe that more of the stern is buried in the sand, especially on the stern end.