Goldenrod, 1938 (WAGL-213)

Jan. 25, 2021
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Goldenrod, 1938

WAGL-213
Radio Call Sign: NRXR


Any of numerous chiefly North American plants of the genus Solidago, having clusters of small yellow flower heads that bloom in late summer or fall.


Builder:  Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works, Dubuque, Iowa

Length: 103' 6"

Beam: 24'

Draft: 5' 9"

Displacement: 193 tons

Cost: $115,375

Commissioned: 2 June 1938

Decommissioned: 26 May 1973

Disposition: Transferred

Machinery: 2 Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, 150 horsepower each; twin propellers

Performance & Endurance:
        Max: 10.5 knots
        Cruising: 8.0 knots; 1,000 mile range

Deck Gear: Steel boom, 2-1/2 ton capacity; electric hoist; 2 spuds

Complement: 15

Armament: None (small arms?)

Electronics: GRM detection radar (1965)


Tender History:

The Goldenrod was one of two Goldenrod-class river tenders.  These 104-foot river tenders were constructed of steel except for the top of the pilot house and Texas deck, which were wood.  Their propellers were mounted in tunnels for operations in shallow waters, the first tenders so equipped.  In the early 1960s, she and her sister, Poplar (WAGL-241) received new engines, 2 General Motors diesels, as replacements for the Fairbanks-Morse they were originally equipped with.  They were designed to push a work barge ahead of them.

She was assigned to the 9th District and was based out of Kansas City, Missouri and serviced aids to navigation for 446 miles of the upper Missouri River, Sioux City, Iowa to Boonville, Missouri.  In June, 1943, she evacuated flood victims from Missouri and Illinois. 

On 13 September 1950 she was transferred to Peoria, Illinois.  In February 1961 she was used to train South Vietnamese officials.  From 1 August 1962 until 26 May 1973 she was stationed at Keokuk, Iowa.  She assisted in flood relief near Keokuk in late April, 1965.  On 3 May 1965 she assisted in flood relief near Niota, Iowa.  In mid-May 1969 she assisted following a large fire at La Grange, Missouri.

She was decommissioned on 26 May 1973 and was transferred to the National Science Foundation on 26 September 1973.


Sources:

Cutter History File.  USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.

Douglas Peterson.  United States Lighthouse Service Tenders, 1840-1939. Annapolis: Eastwind Publishing, 2000.

Robert Scheina.  U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II.  Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1982.

Robert Scheina.  U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946-1990.  Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990.

Ship’s Characteristics Card “USCGC GOLDENROD” (Form CG-2919; dated 1 July 1964)