After nearly seven months of being stranded on the Milwaukee shores of Lake Michigan between Bradford and McKinley beaches, the Milwaukee Boat—a.k.a. the S.S. Minnow, the S.S. Milwaukee, Deep Thought, or just the Boat—is gone. Yep, the Boat is gone. They finally towed it.
Someone put a stick on the site to commemorate the beloved, departed vessel. The Milwaukee Boat: October 13, 2024 — May 6, 2025. R.I.P.
In case you somehow missed it, Milwaukee towing company All City Towing successfully removed the Boat on Tuesday. Crews first removed pieces of the beached rescue pontoon left by Jerry Guyer’s Silo Marina team, which attempted to tow the boat several times over the past few months:
Then, it was on to the Big Show. It took All City Towing roughly six hours to do it, but they did it. They slowly turned the sucker around, pulled it over the rocks, loaded it onto a flatbed, and whisked it away:
We live-streamed the bulk of the main operation. It was fun, weird, and hilarious. We bought a piece of the Boat from a guy who was selling them for $10. We saw a ton of people and chatted with fellow media folks. We forgot to bring sunscreen and got horribly sunburned. It was a hoot reading your comments:
Was Milwaukee treasure Bert Lauderdale on the scene? What about Yung Mitch? Yes, of course they were there:
The cost of Tuesday’s extraction cost was approximately $55,000. Who will pay that $55k? Milwaukee County, for now, though the County will seek reimbursement.
“There are ongoing questions about who holds the title, and if the transfer was never properly completed, the original owners may still be liable,” Milwaukee County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman said in a statement Tuesday. “Either way, Milwaukee County residents shouldn’t be forced to cover the cost of cleaning up after out-of-state tourists who abandoned their boat and their responsibility.”
The Boat’s apparent owners, Richard and Sherry Wells of Mississippi, have been mostly MIA since abandoning the Boat on October 13, 2024. Sherry’s dramatic story of how and why they abandoned the Boat—a story left as a Google Maps review—is worth a read. Ditto our “sailor’s response” article. (Our original, non-AI-slop song about the Boat is worth a listen, too.)
Oh, and remember when Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson showed up at the Boat on April 23? Remember when he said the thing would be removed by the end of the day (it wasn’t), and that an “anonymous donor” was going to kick in some cash for the removal? According to Wasserman’s statement, that donor “has not contacted the County, and no formal offer has been received.” Lol. (The Daniel W. Hoan Foundation is still donating $10,000.)
So that’s it folks. That’s the end of our Boat coverage. Maybe. Probably. Possibly not. Who knows.
My god, were we ever so young?
October 18, 2024
Want more Milwaukee Record? Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and/or support us on Patreon.
RELATED ARTICLES
• They’re gonna remove the Milwaukee Boat on Tuesday. For real this time. Weather permitting.
• A sailor’s response to the Milwaukee Boat origin story / “review”
• The owners of the Milwaukee Boat speak (allegedly, via a wild Google Maps review)
• Deep Thought Milwaukee abandoned boat bobble unveiled
• Supervisor Wasserman calls for immediate removal of the abandoned boat on Milwaukee County shoreline
• Boat still there, now topless
• 6 months of the Milwaukee Boat (and 2 signs of its impending demise)
• I dropped by ‘The Morning Blend’ to talk about you-know-what
• 5 months of the Milwaukee Boat
• We talked to Wisconsin Public Radio about the Milwaukee Boat
• Orange two-sided anchor tied to the Milwaukee Boat: The Milwaukee Record Review
• Four months of the Milwaukee Boat
• I wrote a song about the Milwaukee Boat
• 16 things spray-painted on (or stuck to) the frozen Milwaukee Boat
• Order your Milwaukee Boat shirt NOW
• Boat still there, now moved a little
• Boat still there, now tagged
• Patreon exclusive: Watch video of a crew trying (and failing) to tow that boat