Whaler Charles W. Morgan
by D eirdre O 'Regan
n mid-M ay ar high ride, rhe 172-year-old whaling ship Charles W Morgan will leave rhe dock ar Mys ric Seaport and point her bow rewards rhe riny Mysric River drawbridge. Ir will have been more rhan 72 years since she las r passed rhrough ir. Lasr July, rhe Mo rgan was relaunched afrer almosr fi ve years high and dry in the museum's Henry B. duPonc Preservation Shipyard. The museum hauled her out in November of 2008 for a much-needed res torarion of her hull. She had been serving as a static museum ship since she arrived in M ys tic in 194 1. For more than thirty yea rs she was land locked in a sand pir, but in 1973 rhe museum had her hauled and repaired so she could be refloaced. She was aga in hauled in 1982 fo r a th ree-yea r restoration, but only from the waterline upwa rds. The museum sraff kepr an eye on rhe condirion of the hull over the years, of course, and the shipya rd crew began collecring, anywhere they cou ld, suitable wood for a future major overhaul of the hull . Finally, in 2008, it was time to rake care of the hull below the waterline. The yard work chat followed was a remarkable and meticulous achievement. Every detail of rhe ship's original fa bric was documented both by time-honored methods of measuring, drawing, and photography, but also wirh the lares r in rechnology, including 3-D laser scans of rhe interior and x- ray examinarion of rhe keel bolrs. Once rhe grear fesriviries of the relaunch had wa ned, it was back to wo rk fo r rhe shipya rd crew-sh aping new spars and repairing old ones and preparing standin g and running rigging; a fu ll suit of sails is being builr by sailmaker Nathaniel S. W ilson and his crew in East Boothbay, M aine. In the museum's blacksmith shop, the smiths have fabricated hundreds of iron fittin gs, chain places, and anything else rhe ship needs. In addirion to rhe physical work on rhe ship, rhere is a crew to hi re, itineraries to wo rk out, and safety inspecrions and communications with the Coast G uard to be kepr up wirh. In the office, more staff are organizing the many people who will be involved along rhe way, from rhe lucky volunteer participam s who will come aboard fo r a 24-hour stay, to the "s towaway" who will join the sailing crew for the entire summer voyage. The stowaway will blog and share rhrough a variety of media his/her experience. Before she gers underway, the M organ will be temporarily fitted with modern safety and navigation equipment, sanirarion sysrems, a wo rking galley, and ocher necessary irems for safe handling underway wirh a crew living and working aboard, 24/7. W hen rhe 38'h voyage is complered , the 21"-cemury addirions will be removed so rhac the ship returns to her historic look and configuration at the museum. Finally, the vessel wi ll need an addition al 50 to 60 long tons ofballasr, which they' ll add afrer she's navigated out of rhe Mys ric River and made her way over to New London. Ar rhe museum, rhe Morgan has 80 long tons of ballas r, which h as rhe shi p floa ting wirh a 12-1/2 foot drafr, which will allow her ro pass in and our of rhe river. M ys tic Seaport has hired a captain for the 38'h voyage, Captain Richard "Kip" Files of M aine. Some may know him as rhe caprain and owner of rhe rhree-masred
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(right-top to bottom) C harles W. Morgan's life at Mystic Seaport: her arrival in 1941; as a dockside attraction with daily demomtrations for many years up until her recent haulout; 2 008- 2 013, in shipyard for the restoration ofher hull; launch day, 21July2013. (Left) Captain Kip Fifes.
SEA HISTORY 146, SPRING 2014
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