USCGC Sundew (WLB-404)
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USCGC ''Sundew'' (WLB-404) was a USCG seagoing buoy tender, sea going buoy tender (WLB). An ''Iris'', or C-class tender, it was built by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. ''Sundew''s preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service and the final design was produced by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth for the U.S. Coast Guard. On 29 November 1943 the keel was laid. It was launched on 8 February 1944 and commissioned on 24 August 1944. The original cost for the hull and machinery was $861,589. ''Sundew'' is one of 39 original seagoing buoy tenders built between 1942-1944. All but one of the original tenders, , were built in Duluth. Like all of these tenders, ''Sundew'' was named after a plant, in this case the sundew, a carnivorous plant from the genus ''Drosera''. In 1958, ''Sundew'' was assigned to Charlevoix, Michigan, and the following November helped in the rescue of two survivors from the SS Carl D. Bradley, ''Carl D. Bradley'' when it sank in a storm on Lake Michigan west-northwest of Charlevoix. ''Sundew'' remained at Charlevoix until 1981, when she was replaced by . ''Sundew'' was then moved to Duluth, Minnesota, where it served until it was retired in 2004. ''Sundew'' served 60 years for the Coast Guard and was decommissioned and retired on May 27, 2004. As part of the decommissioning, the vessel was given to the city of Duluth, its last home port, to be used as a museum ship. The services provided by the ''Sundew'' were taken up by . Due to a drop in tourism revenue, in 2009 the city of Duluth sold ''Sundew'' to local residents, Jeff and Toni Foster, David Johnson and Mary Phillipp. The ''Sundew'' moved from its museum location in Duluth in the spring of 2010, and currently (2021) occupies a private slip near Duluth's Great Lakes Aquarium.


External links


Sundew - U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, WLB 404National Park Service Report on the buoy tendersPhoto history of USCG buoy tenders by the Coast Guard Historian's Office
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sundew Iris-class seagoing buoy tenders 1944 ships Historic American Engineering Record in Minnesota Museum ships in Minnesota Ships built in Duluth, Minnesota