On Wednesday, September 10th, a somewhat surprising press release started making its way around a few of the Facebook groups for ships that I’m in. The USS Silversides Museum in Muskegon announced that the former U.S. Coast Guard ship McLane was no longer a part of their museum and it had been towed away. The boat had been part of the museum since 1993, but had not been open to the public this year due to “ongoing maintenance concerns.” A few local news outlets later picked up on the story. We will miss seeing the McLane lined up next to the Silversides the next time we are in Muskegon, but thought this would be a good time to share some photos from the last time we toured it.

The press release further stated: “After nearly a century of service in both salt and fresh water, the McLane’s condition had deteriorated to the point of being inaccessible for public touring and beyond the scope of feasible preservation. Despite efforts to explore alternative preservation options, the museum ultimately determined that continued stewardship of the McLane was no longer sustainable. With the cold season approaching, the combination of time, weather, and structural decline made timely action necessary to ensure the safety of the vessel and the surrounding environment.” It sounds like the hope is that by not continuing to put money into the McLane, more funds will be available to keep the Silversides preserved.

The McLane was a 125 foot Active-class patrol boat that was launched in 1927. She saw service as a patrol boat during Prohibition before being used during World War II as a submarine chaser near Alaska. The McLane earned several award for wartime service and after the war returned to Coast Guard until being decommissioned in 1968. The vessel was used as a training ship for some time, then was donated to the USS Silversides Museum in 1993.

We last toured the McLane in 2017 and she seemed to be in pretty good shape then. The boat was named for former Secretary of State Louis McLane. When active, she carried a crew of 20-40 men and we were able to walk through where they slept, dined, and worked while aboard. With the McLane now gone, the only Active-class boat still serving as a museum is the USCGC Morris in Galveston, Texas.

While we know not every ship can be saved from eventual scrapping, we are grateful that we were able to tour the McLane before she departed. Let’s hope that the rest of Michigan’s museum ships continue to be visited frequently and funded properly so many more people can enjoy them for years to come!