NOAA’s Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary
Hello and welcome to another #WreckWednesday! This week we are featuring the tug HENRY GUST!
HENRY GUST was built as a fish tug in 1893 at the Milwaukee Shipyard Company (which soon became Wolf & Davidson, and later the Milwaukee Drydock Company) for a fisherman who lived on Jones Island, named Henry Gust. The vessel was originally outfit with a 180hp engine built at Vulcan Iron Works in Milwaukee. The vessel was owned by multiple owners over the years, primarily used as a fish tug. In 1918, HENRY GUST underwent an overhaul at Sturgeon Bay, and continued to be used for fishing by its new owners.
In 1929, the vessel was shortened to 65 feet to avoid having to have an engineer aboard at all times. After this, the vessel continued to operate in the local fishing industry, however, by 1935, the aging vessel was beginning to leak more frequently, and the cost of maintaining the vessel continued to grow. Later that year, HENRY GUST was abandoned at a small dock in Milwaukee and was sold to the Alfred Muchin Company (salvage company) who salvaged the vessel’s metal components. As the vessel sat at the dock, it began to leak more and couldn’t stay afloat without constant pumping.
Complete Writeup by NOAA (HENRY GUST)