Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum welcomes restored lifeboat to exhibit

WHITEFISH POINT — A piece of Coast Guard history now calls the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Whitefish Point its home after the installation of a restored lifeboat last month.

The lifeboat is a CG 36381, a rare 36-foot-long Coast Guard type TR Motor Lifeboat. It replaces a previous motorboat that was on display at the museum in the lifeboat house exhibit.

The boat was transported to and installed at the museum on Oct. 11. It needed to be lifted into place with semi trucks and cranes to complete the exhibit.

The Coast Guard boat was discovered around 10 years ago in a Maryland marina where it was set to be destroyed for parts. Jeff Shook and Glen Cathers, friends of the shipwreck museum, found the rare boat and prevented it from being destroyed as they knew the museum would be interested in it.

The boat was eventually bought and shipped to various boat works groups in Michigan before ending up at E.J. Mertaugh Boat Works about six years ago.

“Many years have passed since this project began with a pandemic sandwiched in between," said E.J. Mertaugh Boat Works CEO Brad Koster. "Now it’s time for everyone to go see her. That's the ultimate reward of this project."

The lifeboat house exhibit is an extensive set-up meant to show how the Coast Guard kept ships ready at a moment's notice, and always featured a Coast Guard lifeboat that looked ready to use.

The exhibit has featured a Coast Guard motor lifeboat since it was first brought to the museum in the 1930s.

The exhibit has not been featured heavily since the previous ship was removed. Museum officials said it can now return to its former glory with the same model ship. In fact, the new ship is only 10 hull numbers away from the previous ship, which means they were likely made in the same place around the same time.

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“In order to make our 1923 Motor Lifeboat House restoration complete, we really needed a motor lifeboat,” said museum executive director Bruce Lynn. “This was a tall order, not many of these boats are left. Fortunately, some friends made us aware of a Type TR motor lifeboat that was only 10 hull numbers from the original that arrived at Whitefish Point in 1933. I can’t tell you how excited we were to get this old boat, and we are so excited now to see it in its new home.”

At the exhibit there will be a full history of the boat, including its service life and information about the fact it once featured in a motion picture.

The ship slowly made its way up to the museum, stopping along the way to feature in displays across the state, including the Les Cheneaux Antique and Wooden Boat Show.

A dedication ceremony for the ship will be held in the summer of 2024 to fully welcome it into the exhibit.

— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum welcomes restored lifeboat to exhibit