VIDEO: A former New York City Fire Department fireboat that served during some of the city's most dramatic moments is getting an "over-hull" in a local shipyard before being relaunched as a museum ship.
The John D. McKean was pulled out of the water last week at North River Shipyard to have its hull repaired and will be there through August. The end goal is to turn the boat into a floating museum.
It’s going to cost, though.
The Fireboat McKean Preservation Project is looking to raise $150,000 by this Sept. 11.
“If we can reach our goal, we could ... be giving boat rides by mid-September,” Fireboat McKean Preservation Project President Tracy Conte said Wednesday while standing feet from the boat's hull. “If our fundraising takes a little bit longer, we may have to complete the repairs in phases, which would then delay us by about a year.”