Restoring an Icon: The Charles W. Morgan
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November 2008 saw the hauling ashore of the mighty Charles W. Morgan in the Museum's Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard for a planned multi-year restoration. Climb aboard the world's last wooden whaleship and learn more about the unprecedented restoration of this American icon in the Shipyard Gallery's newest exhibit, Restoring an Icon: The Charles W. Morgan.
Learn all about the tools and timbers and the skills and stories that are part of the preservation of this National Historic Landmark vessel. And while the Morgan may be a product of the 19th century, Mystic Seaport provides an interactive cell phone audio tour to guide you through the exhibition.
As presently conceived, the project will extend beyond the limits of wind and waterline to include lower bottom framing, replacing the interior ceiling, and partial keelson replacement and stem replacement. Remediation of deformed (hogged) sheer line will also be undertaken. It is anticipated that this work will be sufficient to address the Morgan's major structural needs for at least the next 20 years.
All work will be completed by using historically appropriate materials and techniques, in accordance with guidelines set forth in the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Vessel Preservation Projects.
At the completion of the restoration, the Museum plans to sail the Morgan on a ceremonial voyage to historic ports on the East Coast in the summer of 2014.