The Wreck of the Brinehammer is a stranded ship on the northern coast of Skyrim, roughly halfway between Dawnstar and the Solitude Lighthouse. Nobody left a logbook, so its story is a mystery – the likeliest guess is that it hit rocks or a reef at high tide and keeled over hard enough to crush some of the crew with their own furniture. Today it is a rocking, tilted treasure box with a Shrine of Kynareth and a surprisingly good haul of ore.
What you’ll find
- Mudcrabs – the only enemies, and probably the only interior in Skyrim where they come after you indoors.
- The Brinehammer Below Deck – the main interior, awkward to navigate thanks to the slant, scattered cargo and constant rocking.
- The Brinehammer Cargo Hold – despite the name, its doors just lead back outside.
- A hole in the hull that gives direct access to the cargo area from outside.
- A Shrine of Kynareth inside the ship.
- A locked chest (Apprentice lock) in the water beneath the hull crack, holding gold and trinkets, marked by floating boards and three dead skeevers.
Notable items
- Father of the Niben (Archery skill book).
- Catalogue of Armor Enchantments (Enchanting skill book).
- Ores: corundum, ebony, two gold, malachite, two silver and moonstone, plus two silver ingots.
- Nirnroot near the wreckage, clams around the ship and Nordic barnacles on the seaward side of the hull.
Tips
Avoid the north door on the lowest deck – it is known to drop you under the floor of Below Deck (walk back through the door to escape). Quest markers can also get confused in the cargo hold and point you back through the ship. Swim down for the underwater chest; an Apprentice lock is easy pickings, and the mudcrabs are hardly a threat unless you are level one and wearing nothing but rags.
Good to know
Northwest of the wreck lies an unmarked spot known as Sunken Treasures, with chests resting on the sea floor. Worth a dive if you have water breathing or strong lungs.
Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim game files, summarised in our own words.
