WATCH: Boathouse used for celebrated Coast Guard rescue operation goes through Cape Cod Canal

COURTESY ORLEANS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The famous lifeboat, the CG36500, is available for tours at Rock Harbor.

CHATHAM – The historic Chatham Coast Guard Boathouse is getting repaired, and it transited through the Cape Cod Canal to New Bedford last week.

The Town of Chatham shared a video of the Boathouse crossing the Canal on Facebook.

Voters at a Chatham town meeting in 2024 approved a four-million-dollar waterfront project which included a new shellfish upweller and the rehabilitation of the historic Stage Harbor Coast Guard boathouse, which served as the home of the famous boat CG 36500.

That vessel was known for rescuing the crew of the SS Pendleton in 1952, which later became a Disney movie, “The Finest Hours”.

According to the Town of Chatham, the Boathouse left Stage Harbor in 2009 by barge for Quincy, and was eventually relocated to Hull. When it was put up for auction in 2020, a group of preservationists led by David Doherty arranged to have the Boathouse moved back to Quincy for temporary storage until a future use could be determined.

In 2021, Chatham’s Select Board accepted a donation of the Boathouse to use for the new upweller at 90 Bridge Street. 

The Orleans Historical Society says CG 36500 berths in the summer at Rock Harbor in Orleans. It was taken out of service in 1968 and has served since as a museum.

The last surviving crewman of the “Greatest Small Boat Rescue in Coast Guard History” passed away in 2018.