MILWAUKEE — The era of Deep Thought, the boat that has been stranded on Milwaukee’s lakefront since October 2024 and has become a popular attraction, is coming to an end.
At a press conference Wednesday, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced that an anonymous donor will cover the cost of the boat’s removal. The boat has been stuck between McKinley and Bradford after the Coast Guard said the captain ran out of gas.
Related: Visitors stop to see Milwaukee's popular stranded boat before removal
“There has been vandalism on the boat, you know, part of it has been broken off,” Johnson said. “There's broken glass, not to mention the environmental challenges. You know, this may be a county park, but it's in the City of Milwaukee, and so we want to bring that collaborative approach to this as well.”
WATCH THE REMOVAL LIVE:
The mayor said the donor approached him about the boat’s removal a couple of weeks ago. The boat is estimated to weigh around 25,000 pounds due to sand and water inside.
“If Mother Nature stays calm, it'll be gone today,” said Jerry Guyer, a local salvage guy who owns Silo Marina, the crew working on the boat's removal. “Much of this will stay on site, the barge and now the anchors that all stay here and we'll come back tomorrow morning.”
Removal process
Crews are using a barge and work platform to lift the boat. A large block will connect the platform to a winch, with a cable running into the front of the boat. Workers are pumping out water to make the boat lighter, while an air compressor blows air underneath to help loosen it from the sand.
Once the boat is light enough, it will be towed into the Milwaukee River and moved into deeper water.
Watch: Milwaukee's popular stranded boat, 'Deep Thought' is being removed
The entire process is expected to be costly. Guyer said he hopes to keep the removal cost under $25,000. While the price may seem high, he noted there’s little profit in this kind of work.
“In salvage work there's never a guarantee of the 10 to 20 salvages we do a year, probably a third. We never get a penny,” Guyer said. “It's just the nature of the game, and I take it on knowing that, so I'm not complaining about it. It's just the nature of this business.”
The mayor said they’ll continue working with the donor on the cost specifics and hopes the removal won’t fall on taxpayers.
“People come to our county parks. They come to our lakefront. We got some of the most spectacular access to Lake Michigan and Great Lakes in the Midwest. This is a point of pride for our community,” Johnson said. “Having a nuisance like this on the beach is not a good look for Milwaukee, especially considering all the things that happen on our lakefront any given summer.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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