Propeller Steamer Sabino

Propeller Steamer Sabino. .

Built: 1908, W. Irving Adams, East Boothbay, ME , Length overall: 57’ 1” , Beam: 22’ 3” , Draft: 6’ 3”

, Sabino is the sole survivor of an almost countless fleet of wooden commercial steamboats that once plied the lakes, rivers, and coastal waters of America. Built in 1908 as Tourist, she carried passengers and light freight on Maine’s Damariscotta River until 1921. Her only mishap occurred on August 26, 1918, when she was swept under the Damariscotta-Newcastle Bridge and capsized., When she began steaming on the Kennebec River 1n 1922, her name was changed to Sabino. In 1927, she was sold to Harry P. Williams of Portland, Maine, who added sponsons (watertight compartments) to her hull for additional stability in the open waters of Casco Bay. Williams sold her to the Casco Bay Lines, where she worked until 1958. She changed hands several more times before she was donated to Mystic Seaport in 1973., Although her superstructure has been altered several times, Sabino is still powered by her original 75-horsepower Paine compound two cylinder engine, which was built three miles downriver from here in Noank. She now travels the Mystic River, allowing visitors to experience nearly silent team propulsion. Her engine room is in full view of passengers, who are invited to watch as the engineer responds to the captain’s bell signals, a process that has not changed for over 90 years.