Update on the Ernestina Re-fit

The historical Ernestina is heading toward completion of her major re-fit here at Boothbay Harbor Shipyard. With two months left before the launching of the Ernestina in April, the crew is working very hard to meet the deadline.

The planking covering the bow and midship is complete with the exception of one plank on the starboard side. With the completion of the planking, the chalking has begun on the hull. After the chalking is the sealing.

The building of the deck frame is nearly finished and the laying of the deck will begin shortly.

A template of the covering boards above the planking has been developed and the completion of the covering boards will be the next step toward wrapping up the Ernestina re-fit. Watch the VIDEO below showing the latest progress on the Ernestina

Arctic Explorer on the Ways

While researching for a video on the Ernestina, I discovered that the ship getting its bow replaced, sitting on our Boothbay Harbor Shipyard marine railway has a rich history and amazing stories to tell.

The Ernestina is one of only two sailing Arctic exploration vessels left afloat in the United States, the other being the schooner Bowdoin, also a National Historic Landmark. After a long and distinguished fishing and cargo-carrying career, Effie M. Morrissey (Ernestina) was purchased in 1926 by Capt. Robert A. Bartlett, Canadian-born Arctic explorer and captain for Robert E. Peary.

Seventeen years earlier, Bartlett navigated Peary and Matthew Henson to the North Pole in 1909, on the Roosevelt and was considered the greatest ice captain of the 20th century. After 1924, under Capt. Bob Bartlett, Ernestina or known at that time as "the little Morrissey" made 20 regular voyages north. On one voyage they reached within 600 miles of the Pole. They documented the frozen north and its flora and fauna. Its patrons included the National Geographic Society, the Smithsonian Institution, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Museum of the American Indian, and others.

Star of Pathe newsreels and David Putnam's adventures for boys, David Goes to Greenland and David Goes to Baffin Land, spread the name and fame of this revered captain and his schooner. Cap'n Bob and Morrissey, were as famous to the generation of the 1920s and 30s as Jacques Cousteau and Calypso were to the generation of the 1960s and 70s. They were heroes of adventure along with their ships.

If you look at some of the "Newsreels" on the British Pathe website, you can see actual footage of Capt. Bob on the Morrissey around 1934. Included is footage of him battling storms and icebergs among many other adventures.

In 2009, Capt. Bartlett will be celebrated from Newfoundland and Labrador to New England. When the repairs to Ernestina (previously "the little Morrissey") here at Boothbay Harbor Shipyard are completed, she will be ready to begin new stories and adventures with a new generation.

Watch a VIDEO news release from NECN.

Watch the videos below taken on the Effie M. Morrissey with Capt. Bartlett and his " little Morrissey".

National Park Service Interns

How are two architect students and one marine architect student spending their summer at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard in Maine?

Many hours have been spent measuring every part of the historic Ernestina. They began the measuring in New Bedord, MA before the ship left for Boothbay. This data combined with the data from a TOTAL, a laser tool, is being used to make line and 3D drawings of the Ernestina. Using this laser tool from the deck and land to get the topside and hull markings, a continuous surface is made to replicate the ship.
For more pictures and information see VIDEO.

Interns for the National Parks Service, Karolina Walichiewicz, from California, Caleb Reed from Kansas and Katie Whalen from New York have taken over a conference table and are busy on their computers replicating the Ernestina down to the tiniest detail.

These drawings will be used to get a full picture of what the ship is actually like right now in history. Todd Croteau, the Director of Historic American Engineering Record is supervising the interns, out of Washington DC.

This year the repairs of Ernestina will include the stem, foredeck, and planking above the waterline alongside the foredeck. There will also be temporary repairs to the main deck to halt the leaking.

When asked how it has been for them working at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, they were impressed with all the work goes on and what a busy place it is at the shipyard. Other comments were “It’s a great place to work” and "the people have been friendly and easy to work with.”

The work is expected to be completed this fall and will follow the standards set forth in the Secretary of the Interior’s Standard’s for Historic Vessel Preservation Projects and the U.S. Coast Guard. Harold Burnham, an 11th generation Essex Master Shipwright, is the state representative for the project.