Photo October 2, 2010 By Nelson Michael Chin
The wooden fishing vessel Lettie G. Howard, built in 1893, is the
last remaining example of a Fredonia model schooner, once the
standard fishing boat type in North American offshore fisheries.
She is owned by South Street Seaport Museum and is afloat at the
museum's facility on the East River in New York City Harbor.
.jpg)
Photo December 1989 prior to restoration.
The South Street Seaport Museum released a statement on Thursday as follows:
We have important news about our beloved Essex-built fishing schooner Lettie G. Howard. As you all know, we hauled her at Mystic Seaport Museum for repairs to rot in her keelson at the foremast step. Unfortunately, the rot in her keelson is more extensive than was previously thought. In fact even now we don’t know the full extent of this and we’re going to need to disassemble her significantly to assess and repair.
We have in hand from our friends at Boothbay Harbor Shipyard an estimate that is close to $250,000. For now we’re going to put Lettie back in the water where she can be well looked after and kept wet. We have $56,000 committed from our small waterfront budget, and we’re starting a fundraising campaign! This is a good start, but there’s a long way to go.
To make this work, we’ll need the support of all who know and love Lettie G. Howard. Please help. Send contributions to Lettie G. Howard, South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St., New York, NY 10038
As of November 2011, Lettie G. Howard was motored up to the Mystic Seaport Museum for Keelson repairs. When she was hauled out, the ship-rights discovered that the rot was much more severe than initially estimated. Lettie now requires additional funding to accommodate the more extensive keelson repairs. Lettie has been at Mystic since November 2011 and there are plans to bring her back to New York City with the hopes of raising additional funding when she returns.
ReplyDelete