With state budget lift, USS Cobia set to dry-dock

For decades, it’s been a sentinel along the shore.

The USS Cobia is a tribute to Manitowoc’s submarine history, where between 1941 and 1945, 28 submarines were built as part of the war effort during World War II.

While the USS Cobia itself was built in Connecticut, it shares its design with those crafted here: it’s a Gato-class submarine. It arrived in Manitowoc in 1970, and has been a National Historic Landmark since 1986.

History, and invasive species, have taken a toll

The USS Cobia is a living monument, open to tours and even to overnight stays. But you can see everyday wear and tear. A torpedo tube is missing its door, and invasive species like zebra and quagga mussels have built up on the bottom. The whole vessel needs a fresh coat of paint.

Next month, the USS Cobia will head to Sturgeon Bay, where it’ll get its first restoration in nearly three decades. It was last dry-docked in 1996.

Alexandria Bolle is a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, the sub’s permanent home. She says this restoration is akin to regular maintenance on your car.

“It’s not good to have any vessel sit without being dry-docked every so often,” she tells Civic Media.

The mussles take a lot of pressure to remove.

“I don’t know if they’re sand-blasting it or using crowbars, but a considerable amount of force is needed to remove them. [It’s] not something you go picking at with your fingers.”

It’s getting a boost from the budget

About a third of the cost of the dry-dock is covered by taxpayers. The new state budget, signed into law last month, allocates half a million dollars for the project, which in total, is expected to cost about $1.5 million.

They worked with area Rep. Tittl to make their case.

“Thankfully, it’s not a hard pitch to get people to understand why the Cobia is so important to preserve. It was just the waiting game,” she says.

Bolle says news of the budget— which was signed in the early a.m. on July 3— came just in time for their SubFest on the Fourth of July weekend.

“We’ve just been ecstatic since.”

The rest of the project is funded through an effort from the Museum, which has reached their fundraising goal. They’re still taking donations to pay for any unexpected work this time, or to plan for the next dry-dock.

A date’s been set

The USS Cobia will leave home next month. They’ve just set a departure date — September 4. But that could be subject to change based on weather or other factors.

When the Cobia leaves, it’ll take eleven hours for professional towers to tug it to Sturgeon Bay. There, it’ll be put up on stilts and restored by professionals at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding.

The restoration could take up to six weeks. In that time, Manitowoc will be missing a part of its history along the coast.

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