USCGC ''Sundew'' (WLB-404) was a sea going buoy tender (WLB). An ''Iris'', or C-class tender, it was built by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

, United States. ''Sundew''s preliminary design was completed by the

United States Lighthouse Service The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the United States Government and the general lighthouse authority for the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 as the successor of th ...

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 ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous ...

, a carnivorous plant from the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Drosera ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genus, genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucil ...

''. In 1958, ''Sundew'' was assigned to

Charlevoix, Michigan Charlevoix ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Charlevoix County, Michigan, Charlevoix County. Part of Northern Michigan, Charlevoix is located on an isthmus between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix, bisected by ...

, and the following November helped in the rescue of two survivors from the ''Carl D. Bradley'' when it sank in a storm on

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

west-northwest of Charlevoix. ''Sundew'' remained at Charlevoix until 1981, when she was replaced by . ''Sundew'' was then moved to

, where it served until it was retired in 2004. ''Sundew'' served 60 years for the Coast Guard and was decommissioned and retired on 27 May 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 A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

. 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 (2025) occupies a private slip near Duluth's

Great Lakes Aquarium The Great Lakes Aquarium opened in 2000 and is located on the Duluth waterfront. A 501(c)(3) private nonprofit, Great Lakes Aquarium features animals and habitats found within the Great Lakes basin and other worldwide ecosystems such as the Amaz ...

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