MYSTIC, Conn. — She has weak knees, her front and rear ends sag and Quentin Snediker worries about what else he may find when he digs deeper into her stout frame.
Snediker is the director of the Henry B. DuPont Preservation Shipyard at Mystic Seaport. “She” is the Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving wooden whaling ship in the world and the icon of the seaport.
Launched in 1841 in New Bedford, Mass., the Morgan served as a whaling vessel until 1921. She made 37 voyages, the longest almost five years. In 1941, the ship arrived at Mystic Seaport, where she spent much of her life embedded in a berth of sand.
Since being refloated in 1973, the Morgan has been maintained and refurbished faithfully. After being hauled out of the water in November, she is now in dry dock undergoing a three-year, $5 million restoration, her most extensive yet.
