DeLand's WWII Tugboat Tiger Is Home on Lake Beresford, but Volunteers Need $500,000 to Save It
Built in 1944 within 600 feet of where it now floats, the Tiger could sink at any time, says DeLand historian Dan Friend. The DeLand Historic Trust is asking the public to help pull it from the water.
The Tiger is home. Now volunteers in DeLand have to keep it afloat.
The 140-ton tugboat was built on Lake Beresford in 1944. According to News 6 ClickOrlando community correspondent Molly Reed, it now sits docked on that same lake, within 600 feet of where it was built. As of last week, volunteers had moved it there after it spent time stuck in the mud along the St. Johns River.
Built by 500 workers, away for decades
About 500 workers built the Tiger on day and night shifts that began just three months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The tug then went to Europe to support Allied operations in World War II and stayed overseas for nearly 80 years.
It came back from Sweden in 2022. DeLand historian Dan Friend has worked for years to bring the Tiger home, including raising the money to transport the vessel.
A race against rust
The homecoming comes with a warning from Friend.
"You know, the largest concern we have is that she's been in the water 82 years and could sink at any time," Friend said.
He says he has read that tugs like this one often rust from the inside out, with no sign on the surface. External rust is already visible on the Tiger, he says, so the trouble could come as soon as tomorrow.
There is some good news. Friend says they managed to keep the original engine in the boat all the way back to DeLand.
The $500,000 plan
Friend and the DeLand Historic Trust want to turn the Tiger into a memorial museum honoring the vessel and other World War II-era tugboats. First they need to raise $500,000.
That money would buy land so the tug can be brought up and out of the water. Friend says it might not pay for the whole site, including parking. But it would solve what he calls his immediate problem: getting her out of the water before she sinks.
For now, some of the Tiger's items are being kept at the DeLand Memorial Hospital and Veterans Museum.
How to give
Donations go by mail. Make checks payable to DeLand Historic Trust, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and send them to 2232 Holly Lane, DeLand, FL 32724. Add a note saying the money is for the ST-479 Tiger Restoration Fund. The organization's EIN is 46-4720482.