Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat CG 36500

Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat CG-36500
History
Name: CG-36500
Operator: United States Coast Guard
Builder:
Completed: 1946
Out of service: 1968
General characteristics
Tonnage: 9.1 MT (20,000 lbs)
Length: 36 feet (11 m)
Installed power: 160 hp
Propulsion: General Motors 4-71 diesel[1]
Crew: 4
Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat CG-36500
Location Orleans, Massachusetts
Coordinates 41°47′58″N 70°0′32″W / 41.79944°N 70.00889°W / 41.79944; -70.00889Coordinates: 41°47′58″N 70°0′32″W / 41.79944°N 70.00889°W / 41.79944; -70.00889
Built 1946
Architect U.S. Coast Guard Yard Curtis Bay, Maryland
Architectural style Other
NRHP Reference # 05000467[2]
Added to NRHP 27 May 2005

Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat CG-36500 is a historic 36-foot lifeboat berthed at Rock Harbor in Orleans, Massachusetts.[3] Built in 1946, it is notable for its involvement in the SS Pendleton rescue, one of the most daring such events recorded in the history of the United States Coast Guard. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005,[2] and now serves as a museum boat. It is believed to be the only seaworthy 36-footer left.[4]

Description

CG-36500 is a standard 36-foot lifeboat, a vessel specifically designed to remain operational under extremely difficult conditions. It has a heavy keel and skeg, watertight compartments, and self-bailing features. Most of its wooden elements are white oak, and it has a total weight of nearly 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg).[4]

History

The boat was built in 1946 at the Curtis Bay Maryland Coast Guard Yard, where all 36-footers were built.[4] On 18 February 1952, the crew of CG-36500, which consisted of Boatswains Mate First Class Bernard C. Webber (coxswain), Engineman Third Class Andrew Fitzgerald, Seaman Ervin Maske, and Seaman Richard P. Livesey,[5] rescued 32 of 33 crewmen trapped on the stern section of the tanker SS Pendleton, which had broken in half in a storm off Chatham, Massachusetts.[6] The rescue of the survivors of the shipwrecked Pendleton is considered one of the most daring rescues of the United States Coast Guard.[7] The story is told in the 2016 Disney film The Finest Hours.

The boat was taken out of service in 1968, and was given to the National Park Service for use as an exhibit at Cape Cod National Seashore. In November 1981, the Park Service, which had not effected any significant restoration work on the vessel,[4] deeded it to the Orleans Historical Society, and a restoration started by a group of volunteers from Chatham, Orleans, and Harwich, Massachusetts.[8] Restoration work was completed in six months and the boat was re-launched in a public ceremony that was attended by Bernard Webber and his wife.[9]

See also

Notes

Citations
  1. ↑ Tougias, p 178
  2. 1 2 Staff (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. ↑ "CG36500". The Orleans Historical Society. Archived from the original on 16 March 2010. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "NRHP nomination for Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat CG36500". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  5. ↑ Tougias, p 37
  6. ↑ Webster, W. Russell. "The Pendleton Rescue". Coast Guard History. US Coast Guard Historians Office. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  7. ↑ "Pendleton Rescue". United States Coast Guard. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  8. ↑ Tougias, p 177
  9. ↑ Tougias, p 179
References used
  • Tougias, Michael J.; Sherman, Casey (2009). The Finest Hour. New York, New York: Scribner. ISBN 978-1-4165-6721-9. 
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