USCGC Muskingum (WLR-75402) is a Gasconade class 75-foot river buoy tender that was built in 1965 by Maxon Marine, Tell City, Indiana.
The tug-type tender pushes a 130-foot buoy barge with specialized cranes and equipment to perform maintenance and repairs on buoys.
Muskingum has a beam of 22 feet, a 4 foot draught, a length of 75 feet, and a displacement of 141 tons full load. Muskingum is the second of nine tenders in the Gasconade class. Muskingum has a crew of 13. It has 2 diesel engines turning 2 shafts developing 600 bhp with a speed of 10 knots. Range is 3,100 nautical miles.
Muskingum is home ported at Sallisaw Shore Side Detachment on Robert S. Kerr Reservoir in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. The tender pulls maintenance and repairs on buoys on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System from the Port of Catoosa near Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Fort Smith, Arkansas (a distance of about 153 miles).
In 2005, Muskingum was dispatched to the Gulf Coast to help in the Hurricane Katrina relief operations.
In 2007-2008 the Krew of all Crews was formed. Some of the finest sailors this side of New Orleans became legends of the river. the "Port Side" Krewe arrived and H grenades and Muffalettas lined the Arkansas River from then on. Late at night you can still hear "the pulse" echoing from Fort Smith to Ozark to Little Rock.... If you yell Boom Boom Bam from the midline of the Little Rock Bridge over the Arkansas River, the river will acutually yell back "Dont give a Damn" an ode to Johnson, Wright, Soriano, Whiting, Rodriguez, McIntyre, Williams, Lynn, MacFarlane, Kappler, Gremillion, and the dirty Musk herself.
Hey there Jimmy, F J Philpott. Suckasaw. Horny Gator, the Watcher, Lil C Smooth, Ya boi Gase, sweet n salty nut, Ayo Chef, Back on the 87, where's ya OCS package, who's gonna make the muffalettas, Ya boi felix, the pulse, wandering aimlessly, Cajun Crackdown, Wajun Prick, Lake Ponch, Bay st. Louis , crayfish, OH my NOLA, H. CONNICK ,
==References==
http://www.hazegray.org/worldnav/usa/guard.htm#wlr http://www.monitoringtimes.com/html/cg_surface.html http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/5small/inactive/maxon.htm