USCGC Sundew

{{Short description|U.S. Coast Guard cutter}}

{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}

{{Infobox ship begin}} {{Infobox ship image |Ship image=File:Sundew WLB 14.jpg |Ship caption=USCGC Sundew. }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=U.S. |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|coast guard}} |Ship name= |Ship namesake= |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Marine Ironworks & Shipbuilding Corporation, Duluth, Minnesota |Ship laid down=29 November 1943 |Ship launched=8 February 1944 |Ship original cost=$861,589 |Ship commissioned=24 August 1944 |Ship decommissioned=27 May 2004 |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship identification={{IMO Number|8635100}} |Ship honours= |Ship fate=Museum ship 2004-2009, sold to private interests 2010 |Ship status= |Ship notes= |Ship nicnkname=The Superior One }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=Iris (C-Class) |Ship displacement={{convert|1025|LT|abbr=on}} |Ship length={{convert|180|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|37|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship draft= |Ship propulsion=2 × Cooper BessemerGN8Turbochaged Diesel/Electric engines |Ship speed={{convert|13|kn|abbr=on|lk=in}} |Ship range= {{convert|8000|nmi|abbr=on|lk=on}} at {{convert|13|kn|abbr=on}} |Ship complement= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=*Wartime: 20 mm guns, a 3-inch cannon and depth charges. Peacetime: None |Ship armor= |Ship aircraft= |Ship aircraft facilities= |Ship notes= }}

File:USCGC Sundew - 9 July 2004.jpg

USCGC Sundew (WLB-404) was a {{convert|180|ft|m|0|sing=on}} sea going buoy tender (WLB). An Iris, or C-class tender, it was built by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Sundew{{'}}s preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service 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 {{convert|180|ft|m|0|sing=on}} seagoing buoy tenders built between 1942-1944. All but one of the original tenders, {{USCGC|Ironwood|WLB-307|6}}, were built in Duluth. Like all of these tenders, Sundew was named after a plant, in this case the sundew, a carnivorous plant from the genus Drosera.

In 1958, Sundew was assigned to Charlevoix, Michigan, 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 {{convert|47|mi|km|0}} west-northwest of Charlevoix. Sundew remained at Charlevoix until 1981, when she was replaced by {{USCGC|Mesquite|WLB-305|6}}. Sundew was then moved to Duluth, Minnesota, 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. The services provided by the Sundew were taken up by {{USCGC|Alder|WLB-216|6}}.

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 (2024) occupies a private slip near Duluth's Great Lakes Aquarium.