A truck from Brownell Systems gets ready to pull the steamboat SABINO out of the main shop, where she has been undergoing restoration since December 2014. Click on the image for a slide show. (Photos by Kane Borden and Joe Michael/Mystic Seaport)
Steamboat Sabino took one step closer to her launch this summer when she was moved out of the main shop today and onto the shiplift, where work will continue until she is ready to go back into the water. Sabino has been undergoing a thorough restoration and inside since December 2014. Brownell Systems of Mattapoisett, MA, erected a trailer under the vessel and then carefully maneuvered her out to the lift.
Sabino still needs to have her engine, stack, canopy top, and pilothouse reinstalled. They were removed to provide greater access for restoration work and clearance through the shop doors. In addition, a new boiler needs to be designed and fabricated to replace the current one that dates back to 1941. While that is taking place, Sabino will be launched and returned to operate as a dockside exhibit. The plan is to have her return to steam operation for the 2017 season.
