Here's a link to another one on my blog.
http://letstalklighthouses.blogspot.com/2007/10/requiem-for-lightship.html
This is Lightship #114, last known as the New Bedford Lighthtship. It was the first lightship to ever make a west coast to east coast trip, (via the Panama Canal, in 1930).
114 served the shoals off Fire Island from 1930-1942. She was removed to serve as an "examination" vessel for the remaining days of WWII. At the conclusion of WWII, 114 was assigned for two years to Diamond Shoal, NC, just off the Outer Banks near Cape Hatteras. In 1947, 114 was removed from Diamond Shoals and for the next 11 years, became a "relief vessel" throughout the northeast U. S.
In 1958, 114 was again given permanent assignment, this time at Pollack Rip, a very dangerous "ship-eating" area just off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. After 11 years of serving Pollack Rip well, the lightship was again reassigned, this time to aid in the marking of Portland, Maine harbor.
After 41 years of dedicated service, Lightship 114 was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 1971 with the intention of turning it into a "floating" Coast Guard maritime museum. Plans for the museum fell through, however, and in 1975, ownership of LV114 was transferred to the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Originally, the lightship was going to be turned into a tourist attraction. That plan never materialized, and the ship sat for more than 30 years.
On May 31, 2006, the lightship rolled over on its side due to water which leaked in during a violent thunderstorm because of an open portal. In July of that year, while the City was still struggling with what to do with the lightship, and still on its side, vandals removed 23 historic brass portholes from the exposed side.
The lightship was finally righted in September of that year, and the city tried to vest themselves of it by putting it on EBAY, of all places. They pulled it after getting only 1 offer, and tried to sell it themselves. Eventually, they sold it to a local scrap dealer who dismantled it earlier this year.
The story, in its' entirety, is on the blog link.