The beloved Milwaukee Boat—a.k.a. the S.S. Milwaukee, the S.S. Minnow, the Minnow, Deep Thought, or just “The Boat”—ran ashore on October 13, 2024. But this article isn’t about who owns the thing or why it hasn’t been moved yet. For those answers and more, click HERE.
Incredibly, beyond a single “I Closed Wolski’s” sticker, the Boat remained largely unblemished for two whole months. It was simply an abandoned boat, still in decent shape, just sitting there between Bradford and McKinley beaches:
Then, in the early hours of December 17, aliens visited the Boat. Well, an “ALIENS” tag, anyway:
After that, all bets were off. A failed salvage operation on December 30 moved the boat to a position more parallel with the shore, and cold weather created a shore-to-boat ice bridge that allowed for easier access. Soon, the Milwaukee Boat looked like this:
It’s easy to bemoan the current state of the Boat. It’s easy to grumble about graffiti, vandalism, and whoever defaced the Skipper and Gilligan portraits in the windows. But looked at another way, the Boat has become an unlikely vessel for self-expression. “I was/am here,” these tags, band and restaurant stickers, and withered holiday decorations say. And not only has the Boat become a vessel for self-expression, it’s become an ideal vessel for self-expression. This isn’t public property, after all, and the only people who could be sore about it are the Boat’s owners—Richard and Sherry Wells of Mississippi—and they’ve gone radio silent on the whole thing.
So yeah, we like to think of the Milwaukee Boat as a living art project—a living art project in the form of a 33-foot Chris-Craft Roamer from the 1980s. And with that in mind, let us review the latest addition to the Boat’s evolving canvas. We’re speaking, of course, about an orange, two-sided, wooden anchor tied to the port side of the Boat, proclaiming either “KNOT MOVING” or “BEACH PLEASE.”
The anchor is the work of Milwaukee painter and muralist Dave Watkins. (We know this because he emailed us.) Watkins’ work can be found all over town, most notably on the west side of the “Finishing House” in the River Place Lofts in Walker’s Point:
Photo: Nate Vomhof
The similarities in color and style are obvious. Whether it’s on wooden novelty anchors or the sides of apartment buildings, Watkins is clearly at home working in bright oranges and almost cel-shaded finishing touches. The results are bold and playful, fun and somewhat unreal. The anchor, especially, looks like it was zapped in from an episode of SpongeBob.
That cartoonish look plays well with the Boat. So does Watkins’ background:
Dave Watkins is an abstract painter from Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood. Known for his use of bold color fields and detailed linework. Dave’s work is influenced by the urban city around him—a passing boxcar covered in tags, the many layers of paint on a city wall. Dave’s style creates movement and energy through the use of gestural marks, brushstrokes and color.
A passing boxcar covered in tags. The many layers of paint on a city wall. An abandoned boat that has become an unlikely Milwaukee meme that will likely stay stuck in the sand until spring. (Our pre-tagged T-shirts are still available!) They’re all the same. They’re all canvases. They’re all vessels for the color and texture and self-expression (and sound!) of a city.
The Milwaukee Record Review: 10/10 wooden anchors. (We like the “KNOT MOVING” side the best.)
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