Deciding an action that arose from "the chill depths of Lake Erie," a federal appeals court has concluded that the wreckage of a schooner that has rested on the bottom of the lake for more than 175 years has been abandoned and its title vests in New York State.

A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the claim of a private company that wanted to raise the boat and install it in a museum in Buffalo. Instead the vessel will remain right where it is.