Museum Small Craft Association Annual Meeting

The Museum Small Craft Association is a group of individuals who share an interest in small boat conservation and restoration, skills preservation, documentation, history, interpretation and research. While most members are museum professionals all are welcome. This year’s annual meeting of the Museum Small Craft Association will be at Mystic Seaport, which has the largest collection of historic boats in the United States and possibly the world. The conference will have presentations and discussions on a variety of small craft and museum related topics, ranging from preservation, restoration and conservation to boat plans. In addition there will be time to explore the museum including the hundreds of historic boats stored in Rossie Mill. Monday evening will feature a trip down the river aboard the Sabino, a coal fired steamboat built in 1908 for use along the Maine coast. We’ll also tour the Charles W. Morgan, the 1841 whaleship, which is undergoing a major restoration in preparation for sailing again in 2013. On a smaller scale there will be opportunities for networking on the water aboard the Seaport’s livery boats. Thursday we’ll take a field trip to next door Rhode Island with stops expected to include the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport and the Herreshoff Museum in Bristol. And as always there will lots of opportunities for informal discussions.