The vessel was gutted, down to the hull and deck beams made of oak and Purpleheart. The crossing took a month, not counting the delays.ĭoug piloted the LISERON over from Brest, France, to Tarpon Springs, FL, where the refit was begun starting in fall, 1988. A new attachment on the foredeck was rigged in Vigo, Spain. Unfortunately, during a layover in the English Channel, the towing completely wrenched out the bronze anchor windlass, sending it straight to the bottom. A SMIT tug out of Rotterdam provided the tow needed. Doug spent the summer of 1988 getting the boat seaworthy for its crossing of the Atlantic. At his point LISERON was assigned her official number (ON) 971339. The Boat Company of Port Orchard, Washington, acquired LISERON in 1988 and began restoration with a view toward using her as a small cruising vessel in the Alaska trade. The refit design plans for the new LISERON were drawn on cocktail napkins, with refinements later made by naval designer Ben Auslund in Florida. It was the second vessel the two men had collaborated on, with the first one being another refurbished boat: the conversion of the SEA WOLF in San Diego into the yacht OBSERVER. Information available from Puget Sound Maritime seems to indicate LISERON was not purchased directly from any French agency or company but rather from an intermediary in this country (acting on behalf of the Department of Defense or the Maritime Administration) between 19.Ĭaptain Doug Cope recalled how he initially tracked the LISERON through US Government archives to its location overseas, but credits Mike McIntosh with re-envisioning the old minesweeper as an Eco-Cruiser. Sometime after 1974, LISERON was returned to the US Navy and was struck from the Navy List on September 14, 1987. Likely while still under French control however, in 1974 LISERON was converted to a diving tender and assigned the pendant number A-723. The minesweeper was transferred to the French Navy on Novemand was given her official name, LISERON, and pendant number, M-683. Despite having brass and stainless-steel fittings and wooden hulls, the ship’s design fell short of its purpose as a minesweeper, as the hulls were later deemed too magnetic and thus susceptible to magnetic mines. They could reach up to 14 knots top speed, and boosted two 20mm mounted on the fore deck: versatile for both anti-aircraft defense and anti-ship offensive operations. These minesweepers were constructed to withstand the hardships of tropical climates and navigate shallow waters of bays, coastlines and inlets with a total draft of just nine feet. AMS-98, which is an enlarged and modernized version of the YMS-type minesweeper made for the US Navy during World War II. The motor vessel (MV) LISERON was laid down at Tacoma Boatbuilding in Tacoma, Washington, in 1953 as part of a group of seven Adjutant-class motor minesweepers (MSC-type) built for the French Navy, under the auspices of the U.S.
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