The schooner Ernestina, Ex. Effie M.Morrissey, was built in 1894 for the Gloucester fishing fleet. Under Captain Bob Bartlett she sailed to within 600 miles of the North Pole, and later brought immigrants to the U.S. under the power of sail. The schooner was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986 and is currently the official vessel of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Ernestina is also in desperate need of repair.
A recent survey estimated that it will take approximately $1.4 million to restore the schooner to sailing condition. The good news is that money to restore the historic schooner has been approved by the state, though is not yet fully guaranteed. Sen. Mark C.W. Montigny, D-New Bedford, who arranged the set-aside, said, “That money is already bonded and I believe we have a fighting chance to convince the governor to spend the money.” Thanks to Tom Russell of the Traditional Sail Professionals Linked-in Group for passing the news along.
Schooner Ernestina needs about $1.4 million to become shipshape
Rick, what do you know about what the repairs consist of??
I can see how just re-rigging a vessel like that; canvas, shrouds, standing and running rigging could easily run a Million, and that depends on the condition of the masts and spars. Any kind of repair that requires dry dock is going to cost a bunch by the day just to pay for the dock itself. If the hull needs more extensive repair than was first indicated then the cost could easily be even higher.
Just curious what needs doing….
Oops. I had intended to link back to the original article, but didn’t. I’ve added it now. It appears that the two largest costs, representing about 60% of the work are planking and frames. From the SouthCoastToday article:
The bulk of the Ernestina repair money is earmarked for work on the ship’s hull: $550,000 for planking and another $269,000 to repair frames, according to the report.
The logs just arrived at Grays Harbor Historical Seaport if you would like to follow the progress here are a couple of websites.
http://historicalseaport.blogspot.com/2012/02/logs-for-schooner-ernestinas-new-masts.html
not so sure this one will work but it’s a link to Les Boltons’ facebook page. He is posting photos as they work on the log.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1239538257
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Nice post!