NPS Photo/Bumagin FRIENDSHIP OF SALEM Temporary Move to ShipyardOpen House at Ship and Custom House on November 6
While Friendship of Salem is able to travel to the shipyard under its own power, the ship will be towed to the shipyard so that the cover can remain on the vessel to protect work that has already been completed as part of this multi-year project. Once final repairs have been completed, the ship will return to Derby Wharf and the process of installing masts and rigging will begin. The ongoing comprehensive repair project includes replacing the ship’s deck, and portions of the stern, rails, and associated framing. In addition, critical structural repairs to the bow will be performed at the shipyard. The project is funded with entrance fee dollars collected at America’s National Parks under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) 20% Program. “This has been a very ambitious project,” Superintendent Jennifer Hardin said. “We are proud to have been able to offer visitors the ability to board the ship and see the project in progress over the last two years. Completing these repairs and returning Friendship of Salem to full operation is an exciting step forward in providing the public with an engaging look into America’s maritime past.” In anticipation of the ship’s temporary move, Salem Maritime National Historic Site invites the public to an Open House at Friendship of Salem (Derby Wharf) on Wednesday, November 6 from 6 pm to 8 pm to view the ongoing repair work before the ship departs for Gloucester. The restored Custom House (178 Derby Street) will also be open to the community during this time. The tall ship Friendship of Salem was designed and built as a replica of an original 1797 Salem-built vessel. The keel was laid in Scarano Shipyard in Albany, New York in 1996 and uses modern technology and materials to meet today’s safety and accessibility requirements. 
Press Release (10/12/2022)Salem, Mass. - Salem Maritime National Historic Site announces that a contract has been awarded for approximately $1.3 million to repair Friendship of Salem. The work will be performed at the ship's home berth on Derby Wharf in Salem, Massachusetts and was funded through the National Park Service’s Recreation Fee Program. This contract includes replacing the deck and significant portions of the transom, bulwarks and associated framing. While initially planned for 2020, delays in contracting occurred due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, the project is anticipated to begin this fall, with work to be completed in the winter of 2023. Captain Tanya Banks-Christensen, who was recently hired as ship supervisor and captain, said, "We're very excited to get started on this long-awaited and much needed repair project, the first and most integral step to getting Friendship of Salem rigged, sailing and serving the public to the vessel's utmost capacity." Friendship of Salem will continue to be open for limited visitation through October. Any additional open hours will be determined at a later date and announced on the park website and social media. The replica tall ship Friendship of Salem was designed with the appearance of an original 1797 Salem-built vessel. The keel was laid in Scarano Shipyard in Albany, New York in 1996 and uses modern technology and materials to meet today’s safety and accessibility requirements. Friendship of Salem represents New England’s influential role in the development of global and domestic maritime trade and in the economic and political development of the United States. In 2021, 181 thousand park visitors spent an estimated $11.8 million in local gateway regions while visiting Salem Maritime National Historic Site. These expenditures supported a total of 147 jobs, $7.2 million in labor income, $11.2 million in value added, and $18.0 million in economic output in local gateway economies surrounding Salem Maritime National Historic Site. About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. 8/2024 UpdateWork in August focused on a variety of different projects. All of the deck beams and carlings around the main house are complete. Contractors were able to start laying some more of the lowest layer of decking and portions all the way up to the main house door are now down. The lower three layers of decking are completed on the starboard side all the way outboard now up to around the main mast, and they started installing the blocking for the kevel cleats.7/2024 UpdateRepair work continued in full force in July. Contractors continued work rebuilding the taffrail and lower transom. In addition, the lowest layers of the outer edge decking were installed. Also, new starboard side deck beams and the new carling around the main house were completed.6/2024 UpdateIn June a major focus was continued work on the lower transom. This included shaping the transom frames, rebuilding the upper taff rail, and preparing the main house area for deck beam replacement.5/2024 UpdateThroughout the month contractors worked on addressing a variety of projects, including frame repair and working on the lower transom.4/16/2023 UpdateContractor James was able to get the main lamination on the starboard quarter badge completed, in addition to getting the majority of the starboard half of the transom closed in.4/9/2023 UpdateContractors are at the stage where parts of the transom are going back on. This week, James was able to get most of the structure of the quarter badges back in place, as well as get the first layer of the lower section of the transom glued on.4/2/2023 UpdateWork continued preparing the transom for putting layers of laminate back on, so contractors mostly focused on that this week. James was also able to remove the outer starboard stanchion and fit a new one in it's place. Barring any surprises, next week should bring the start of adding some transom rather than removing it.3/16/2023 UpdateLast week James and his team were able to get the inboard starboard transom frame into place. This week, it was glued in and preparations were made to start laminating wood back onto the transom - to create some more structure to hold those big timbers in. They've been working hard at placing new blocking and clearing out old wood so there's a good clean area to start with.3/19/2023 UpdateThis week contractor James was able to get the inboard starboard frame out, and get the new one set into place. So, that's two new transom frames in and a great place to start out next week.3/14/2023 UpdateAn exciting week on the ship repair contract front. Contractor James and company were able to fully remove the outboard starboard transom frame and place the new one in. He also started removing the inboard starboard one, and plans to get that one fully out and replaced next week - as weather conditions allow. On the days that weather has not allowed work on the transom, he has been working on removing the starboard rail cap and otherwise preparing the bulwarks on that side.3/5/2023 UpdateThe contractors worked a lot on making sure things were ready to remove and replace the first of the transom frames. They also worked on making patterns for the starboard cap rail and pulled off some of the ceiling planks below so they could do some frame and hull inspection.2/19/2023 UpdateMore prep work was done on the starboard side and transom. This included some more bracing work to shore up the structure of the ship before any framing is removed. Some bracing was also placed under the deck in the area around the capstan to help reinforce the deck beams there. The park also removed the upper rudder shaft, though not part of the contract, it will get some much maintenance work during this time. Additionally, it's removal made it possible for James to support the cover in a different way that will make work on the transom a little easier.2/12/2023 UpdateThe ship repair contract continues to progress. James has disassembled all of the steering gear and associated hydraulics, and started removing and disassembling various things on the starboard side (gunport doors, sheaves, fuel fills, etc.) Additionally, he was able to get started on removing some of the deteriorated wood along the bulwarks on that side. He is awaiting lumber for the transom frames, so has slowed a little on that, but he was able to set up some bracing this week to prepare for the frame removal. All in all, things are moving along well.2/5/2023 UpdateContractor James and company continued exploring and removing damaged parts of the transom, removing/disassembling the steering gear and also started taking off some of the gunport doors on the starboard side.1/29/2023 UpdateContract work is moving right along. James and crew continued deconstruction and discovery of the transom. This week, that included taking off the planking, starting on the quarter badges, removing the tiller and tiller box and starting to take apart the rest of the steering gear for maintenance.1/22/2023 UpdateAfter full construction of the cover over the entire deck, contractors shifted toward deconstruction work. The trim and decorative parts were removed from the transom, and well as the settees and some interior trim from the aft cabin.12/4/2022 UpdateThe capstan was removed this week with a crane and came out fairly easily. It will now be brought to a subcontractor to get it back into good working order before being put back on the ship. The contractor for the ship repair project is worked on framing a cover for the ship. The cover should be completed in the next couple weeks and will extend over the entire deck, making work possible throughout the winter. |
Last updated: November 2, 2024