A piece of maritime history is up for sale, an iconic lightship turned lavish houseboat.
The Nantucket Lightship, among the last such vessels commissioned by the Coast Guard, is listed for $5.2 million. It has been converted into a six-bedroom home that is now docked in Boston Harbor.
“The Nantucket Lightship is a new model for historic marine preservation,’’ the listing reads. “This unique, private yacht with its bright red steel hull is a show-stopping, luxurious floating residence or commercial property.’’
The owner, William Golden, bought the ship in 2000 on eBay, where it was being sold for scrap metal. He and his wife Kirsten paid $126,100, and have since restored the 128-foot vessel at great cost.
“Highly-skilled carpenters were commissioned to build the interior in a manner maintaining the structural integrity of the ship,’’ the listing reads.
The ship features a “hand-crafted exotic hardwood interior,’’ a 2,000-square-foot exterior deck, a dining room for 12, and a gourmet kitchen, said Josie McKenzie, a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman.
WLV612, the official Coast Guard name for the ship, was built in 1950. After serving on the West Coast, the lightship was stationed 40 miles off Nantucket for 14 years before being replaced by automated buoys, Golden said. Lightships had been used in Nantucket since 1894, according to Globe archives. This Nantucket Lightship was the last in service.
“They were established by the US Congress because, going back to Colonial times, hundreds of ships had wrecked and sunk on the sandbars from Nantucket to the New York Harbor,’’ said Golden, a lawyer for the city of Quincy and a former state senator.
The ships were known as beacons of hope, McKenzie said. “Because when immigrants traveled to the country, the lightships were the first thing they saw, symbolizing entrance to America.’’
The last version is the only lightship to pass through the Panama Canal twice.
Golden next plans to plans to restore another historic vessel in Boston Harbor, the WLV613, a former relief boat for Nantucket lightships.
Sabrina Schnur can be reached at sabrina.schnur@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @sabrina_schnur.
