Mystic Seaport workers dig out historic whaling ship after snowstorm

Shoveling 2 feet of snow from a driveway is backbreaking enough. Removing it from a historic 113-foot-long whaling ship moored in the river is another thing entirely.

Shipyard workers at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut were limited to rubber and plastic shovels as they carefully dug Tuesday after the record-breaking snowstorm that hit the Northeast. Any metal object, such as a snow blower or metal shovel, would damage the decks of the Charles W. Morgan and other wooden boats in the Maritime Museum’s collection.

“You have to be careful as you move forward,” said Shannon McKenzie, vice president of watercraft operations and preservation. “The added difficulty is that you have to get it up all the rails of the boat, which for the Morgan it’s 4 feet, 3 feet in places. So it’s an expensive effort.”

Scott Gifford, director of the museum’s shipyard, said crews were trying to alleviate wear and tear on the boats’ historically accurate natural materials. This includes caulking the Morgan’s deck seams with pitch – a combination of pine tar, linseed oils and other “old-fashioned potions” – which prevents leaks. It could be pulled out by a metal shovel.

Snow removal is just the first step. Pure rock salt should then be scattered over the decks to remove any remaining snow and ice. Fresh water from melting snow is not good for wood.

“Wooden boats definitely prefer to have salt water rather than fresh water. It strips them a little bit and it’s much better for the wood,” McKenzie said. “So we put salt on the decks so that the fresh water that melts from the snow gets in and doesn’t contribute to rot on the boats.”

Gifford said the process essentially replicates the way wooden ships were preserved generations ago, when ships were regularly washed in salt water.

“It wasn’t our idea,” he said. “It was in the wooden boat world long before us.”

The Mystic Seaport, the nation’s largest maritime museum, is home to three large ships, including the Morgan, the last wooden whaling ship of the 19th-century American merchant fleet. There are also a dozen medium-sized ships at the museum that need to be cleared of snow every storm.

Cleanup of boats and the entire 37-acre waterfront property following this latest storm, including parking lots, began in earnest Tuesday. The maritime museum features a historic harbor village with cobblestone, slate and gravel walkways that must be shoveled by hand. It’s a process that has been repeated several times this winter.

“It’s trying our patience a little bit,” McKenzie said with a laugh.

She said an enthusiastic team of about a dozen people started cleaning the boats at 7 a.m. and finished by lunchtime. They then joined about seven other workers to help finish cleaning the vast grounds.

“There’s piles and piles of snow, but it’s really beautiful. And it was a beautiful day outside,” she said. “It wasn’t too cold. It was great. We had a great time.”

During the storm, workers had to keep a close eye on the boats. McKenzie said there was always a risk that snow would compromise their stability, especially if it piles up on one side.

The museum is expected to be open to staff and offer limited exhibits to visitors on Wednesday. The Morgan will be ready to welcome visitors this weekend. But that could depend on the latest forecast, which includes more snow.