They’re gonna remove the Milwaukee Boat on Tuesday. For real this time. Weather permitting.

After more than 200 days, nearly seven months, and more than a week after Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson himself said the infamous abandoned Milwaukee Boat would be gone by day’s end, it seems the Boat’s days are truly and finally numbered.

For real this time. Weather permitting.

Milwaukee County has announced that on Tuesday, May 6, a portion of Lincoln Memorial Drive will be temporarily closed to make room for a land-based removal operation. The work will be handled by a new contractor, and not Jerry Guyer of Silo Marina. Guyer and his team have unsuccessfully tried to tow the Boat multiple times in the last seven months. One of their rescue skiffs is currently washed up alongside the Boat—now pontoon-less and split into two pieces—which is funny as hell.

As for Tuesday, a Milwaukee County Parks press release states that “both northbound and southbound lanes of Lincoln Memorial Drive will be closed between Lafayette Hill Road and E. Water Tower Road from early morning to later afternoon. Detours will redirect traffic westbound at both intersections. While the operation is expected to conclude earlier, contractors are accounting for additional time out of an abundance of caution.”

Want to watch the Boat get removed (weather permitting)? It might be tough. The nearby Northpoint parking lot will also be closed on Tuesday, and “Milwaukee County Parks is working with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office to ensure public safety by restricting access to the extraction site.” Boo.

Also, shout-out to the duck that was checking out the Boat(s) on Friday:

Who will pay for Tuesday’s big operation—an operation that’s estimated to cost upwards of $50,000? Milwaukee County will foot the bill for now, with the help of an undisclosed amount of cash from an anonymous donor, and $10,000 from the Daniel W. Hoan Foundation. After that, the County will seek reimbursement from, well, someone.

The Boat’s apparent owners, Richard and Sherry Wells of Mississippi, have been mostly MIA since abandoning the Boat between Bradford and McKinley beaches 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.

So this is it. Maybe. Probably. Yes. Get your photo and video shoots in while you still can, folks. We’re partial to this one, from our pals Gold Steps: