In fact the history of the K-77 is even more colorful than you know!
Before it came across the Atlantic (as an attraction) it was a RESTAURANT in Helsinki, Finland! It was purchased by a restauranteur who tore out the considerable battery space and made a bar (saw pictures of it on a web site that might still be active) and talked to several Fins who visited it! Also got to discuss our mutual love of the Leningrad Cowboys, Finland's answer to the Beatles! But that is off topic.
Stan Sherman (not well liked in sub museum circles) was part of the consortium who purchased these Russkie Rustbuckets (and for nowhere NEAR a Million dollars I might add) to use as tourist attractions. He got a Foxtrot into Vancouver (becasue the USCG gave him the finger when he first attempted to dock it in Seattle)... after a few years in Canada, he got permission to tow it to Seattle, where it drew a dedicated group of US bubbleheads... then with the USCG breathing down his back and growing unrest among the sub vets, he towed it out of Seattle to San Diego, leaving the vets in the lurch! They wanted to lynch Mr. Sherman. Now that DOLPHIN is headed to San Diego, the Foxtrot there will be scrapped! Strike TWO Stan!!!
He brought the K-77 to St. Petersburg, FLA, USA where it literally began dissolving like AlkaSeltzer in the warm salt water. The USCG dusted off their manual on keel hauling procedures to force him to remove the public and navigational hazzard (at this point I think he put the sub up on eBay). The movie folk smaking K-19 heard of it and jumped on it, towing it to Nova Scotia (Halifax, I believe) where it was given minor repairs and modifications to make it look like a Soviet SSN. After filming the movie folks got a big tax break by donating it to the USS SARATOGA Association as a money maker until they got their aircraft carrier. It made sense in that this boat was built to KILL our carriers. You know the rest.
It had horrible maintenance problems, I am told, by the owners. That Russkie steel was almost complete gone in some areas and the rubber coating was all that kept some of the crew from falling through! Sad to see what happened to this uinque vessel. Take some comfort in that she has a sister Julliet-Class sub in Peenemunde, Germany (yes, just a mile or so from where the Nazi's tested their V-2 rockets). Found it on Google Earth. Find it for yourselves!
Paul