By BRENDA WEBB CHEBOYGAN TRIBUNE

Tribune Staff Writer

CHEBOYGAN — For 58 years, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw has called Cheboygan “home.”But she is scheduled for decommissioning shortly after a new icebreaker is brought to Cheboygan in 2005.The question is, does Cheboygan want to keep the old ship, too.

U.S Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, has put that question to the city of Cheboygan, as the Mackinaw’s historic home port, said Dick Moehl of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association.

Stupak wanted to give Cheboygan the first shot at having the Mackinaw as a museum ship, he said.”There are other people around America interested,” Moehl said. “There are other people looking at this … as a possibility, not knowing what all the financial things and environmental things might be.”

Among those other communities are Mackinaw City and Duluth, said Mayor James Muschell.More research is needed to determine just what would be involved in keeping the ship, said City Manager Scott McNeil.”Concerns that I have with regards to the city taking it over is one, maintenance and upkeep and two, where do we put it,” he said. “This issue of where to put it is a concern because our riverfront is pretty important right now and I don’t know if we want to park it at the Major City Park or take up any more of our riverfront,” McNeil said.

The new ship will be docked at the Coast Guard moorings the Mackinaw now occupies, he said.The Mackinaw is 300 feet long and has a 19-foot draft, said Muschell.”For location of that for 300 feet, we’ve gotta have a bulkhead or steel sheet (piling) in order to moor it,” he said.Concerns about dealing with the massive engines and other mechanical systems of the ship were expressed by Councilman Jerry Boardman, who served aboard the Mackinaw for two years.”Even if the city would go into partnership with other organizations, it would be cost prohibitive to maintain the cutter as a museum ship,” he said.

Although the Coast Guard would probably remove the 550,000 gallons of fuel the ship once held, there would be fuel oil and lubricating oil in the piping and other systems, Boardman said. Over time, the mechanical systems would deteriorate, and leaking would result, he said. “The maintenance of a ship, even one on fresh water, is a continual process involving a lot of people whose sole job is to scrape and (paint) the ship,” said Boardman.

But other government owned vessels have been moth-balled before, and more needs to be learned about it, said Councilman Robert Spinella. Potential benefits need to be explored.”I also think that we should let the public have some input, seeing as how that ship’s been here for a long time,” said Councilman Vaughn Temple. “We keep saying that this is a tourist town,” he said. “We should look into something that’s going to draw tourists.”

In Duluth, the moth-balled William Irvin makes $160,000 a year in profit, said Moehl.”Don’t close your eyes to it,” he said.Whether or not funds will be available for the decommissioned Mackinaw is being explored by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, Moehl said.”Time is going to be an enemy to you, because sometime this summer, they’re going to start spending the money for some type of structure,” he said.

In 2004, the Mackinaw will be taken to a temporary site while the Cheboygan port is modified for the new ship, said Moehl.Several years ago, $118 million was budgeted for a new cutter. “The idea is it’s supposed to be able to completely replace the Mackinaw in that it’s supposed to be just as wide, be able to break just as much ice,” Chief Adam Wine of the U.S. Coast Guard said at the time.

However, it would not be the same size as the Mackinaw and would have a much smaller crew, he said.”There’s a lot newer technology out there that can allow the ship to run more efficiently,” said Wine.Buoy tending, search and rescue, and deploying a vessel for cleanup in the event of an oil spill will be among the new ship’s capabilities, he said. “Right now, the Mackinaw just breaks ice,” Wine said. “That’s it’s main purpose in life.” A city council motion to decline the possibility of continuing as home port for the old Mackinaw was withdrawn pending further investigation.