You now have a chance to get your own – free! – piece of Deep Thought, the graffiti-covered abandoned boat that captivated Milwaukeeans for months until pulled from Lake Michigan in May. While supplies last, of course.
As of Thursday, more than 65 pieces of the boat’s “artwork” had been handed out, said Jeff Piller, owner of All City Towing. The damaged boat had been stored there since All City finally removed it, after several other failed attempts, from a spot between McKinley Beach and Bradford Beach.
The 33-foot Chris-Craft Roamer had been stuck on the shore for 205 days and, at the time of its removal – a 14-hour operation – was nearly unrecognizable due to extensive vandalism and tagging.
Those still enamored with the vessel can simply call or stop by All City Towing, 1213 W. Mallory Ave., which is open 24 hours, to pick up an artifact tied to one of the strangest episodes in Milwaukee’s maritime history.
“Everyone had their idea of what they wanted to do with the boat or what they thought would be good,” Piller said. “It was just always the plan for us to spread it around because so many people were involved or interested in the story.”
Only a few pieces of the boat’s hull were on hand at the yard on Thursday morning, but Piller said employees were in the process of cutting up more. Pieces given out Thursday were about 8 inches by 6 inches of solid aluminum perhaps a third of an inch thick and weighing about 2 pounds.
Each piece comes with a unique certificate of authenticity certifying that it came from Deep Thought, which is described as “the widely recognized boat that came to rest along Milwaukee’s lakefront in October 2024, weathering winter ice, waves and the city’s curiosity.” Each certificate is signed by Piller and labels each unique artifact with its own title, such as “Formerly Floating” and “Tow and Behold.”
In July, Milwaukee County Parks, hoping to recoup portion of the $50,000 it cost to remove the boat, sold it in a two-week online auction. It was Piller himself who cast the winning bid of $2,525.
The boat was owned by a Mississippi couple, Richard and Sherry Wells, who told local reporters that they planned to retire on the boat, but their plans went awry when they were caught in a storm and the vessel ran aground on Oct. 13, 2024. It remained stuck in the sand about 15 feet from shore for seven months.
Although Piller is handing out pieces of the boat to the public for free, he said he also hopes to raise some money for charity along the way, too.
“There’s been a couple of different organizations that have asked for a piece to auction off,” he said. “I have a couple of high-dollar items that I’d like to see a lot of money brought in for, if anyone has a large organization or an auction-style event or something that has a bidding process. I have a propeller and I feel like that would be really good to auction off. I also still have the piece of the boat that has “S.S. Minnow” spray-painted on it. I would like to see those bring good money for someone.”
Piller said that his young daughters enjoyed having the boat around the All City lot but were OK with it being cut up. “They think everything is fun,” he said. “My oldest drew on it with a marker so we cut that piece out and kept it.”
Much of the rest of the vessel has ended up being scrapped or sent to a landfill, Piller said.
“The one-bedroom apartment that was on the inside of the boat was all trashed, so that’s in the landfill,” he explained. “All of the sand, debris and seaweed is also all in the landfill. Some of the metal we took to the scrap yard.”
Piller, a Franklin resident who has owned All City Towing for 15 years, said the boat is the most unusual item ever to end up on his lot. Piller said he didn’t expect that public interest surrounding the boat would still linger long after his crew pulled it from the shore. “It’s been very interesting,” he said. “I’ve had lots of fun with it.”
