The steamer Sabino, built in 1908, has been a popular attraction at the Mystic Seaport Museum since 1974, offering boat rides on the Mystic River to an estimated 33,000 passengers yearly. The steamboat; which the museum bills as the oldest wooden, coal-fired steamboat in regular operation in the U.S.; will not, however, be in operation this summer and it is unclear as to whether she will be put back in service in the foreseeable future.
During a major restoration in the Museum’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard, it was determined that the boat’s boiler was beyond repair and would need to be replaced. What is happening next is unclear.