6 months of the Milwaukee Boat (and 2 signs of its impending demise)

The Milwaukee Boat—a.k.a. the S.S. Milwaukee, the S.S. Minnow, the Minnow, Deep Thought, or just The Boat—has been stranded between McKinley and Bradford beaches for six months. Six months! That’s half a year. Incredible.

Mississippi residents Richard and Sherry Wells bought The Boat—a 33-foot Chris-Craft Roamer—in Manitowoc last October. They planned to sail it back to Mississippi. But the couple beached the thing on October 13 after they got stuck in a storm and ran out of gas. The Wells stayed in Milwaukee for two days and tried to free The Boat from the sand; when that failed, they returned to Mississippi.

October 18, 2024

And, well, The Boat has been there—just south of Moosa’s Custard Stand, 2272 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr.—ever since. A local salvage company has tried several times to move it. All attempts have been unsuccessful. People have tagged The Boat, shot music videos near it, and performed DJ sets in it. Milwaukee Record has covered The Boat extensively. We made a top-selling T-shirt of the thing. Our very own Tyler Maas wrote a song about it. It’s become something a cultural landmark.

And yeah, it’s completely and utterly trashed.

April 13, 2025

And, sadly, it may not be around for much longer. A few weeks ago, County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman—whose district includes The Boat’s current resting place—had this to say in his weekly newsletter:

The boat named “The Minnow” for those who remember the Gilligan’s Island, has been stranded along the Lake Michigan shore near Bradford Beach since October 13, 2024. As of today, the vessel remains stuck.

The boat is a safety hazard. I’m very concerned about the safety risks for citizens who come down here. They could slip on the rocks or potentially drown. It’s estimated that the cost of addressing the situation could exceed $100,000. Hazardous chemicals have been removed already.

The boat salvage company has generated a $20,000.00 bill so far. They indicated that in order to remove the boat they will need to create a “dead end” which lifts the boat enough to pull it through the sand or another option would be to physically deconstruct the boat.

Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel Scott Brown, who is the legal authority of Milwaukee County is working on an outline on who is responsible for the financial costs of the removal of the boat.

This boat has become a significant issue for Milwaukee County Parks, and I am working to ensure it be removed as soon as possible without the County paying for the removal.

Meanwhile, the salvage team mentioned in Wasserman’s newsletter seems ready to finish the job—though they’d like someone to help out with the bill. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

[Jerry] Guyer said he and his crew from Silo Marina are ready with a plan. They just need a few days of little to no wind. Then, the plan is to dredge out sand from beneath the boat, while simultaneously removing water from the vessel. A separate boat would be ready nearby to pull it loose and out into the lake.

“I’ve got people and equipment ready to do this,” Guyer said. “I just need somebody from somewhere to apply pressure to help me get this finished.”

Oh yeah: since the Wells aren’t returning anyone’s calls, Guyer has asked the City of Milwaukee to help recoup his $20,000. The City isn’t biting. Neither is the County. Or the Coast Guard. The Boat, says the Journal Sentinel, is stranded in a “jurisdictional no-man’s land.”

But someone will finally move the thing soon, right? Right? Wasserman’s not wrong: it’s kind of dangerous walking on those rocks, and we almost ate it ourselves this morning when a fox (?) darted through the gaps and made us jump. Plus, even the rocks are tagged now:

So, much like the soon-to-be-extinct Milwaukee Public Museum, let’s enjoy The Boat while we still can. And do it safely. And pray that they end up having to “physically deconstruct” the thing, because you know that’ll be a blast to watch.