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NEWS FROM NOBSKA

NESF Continues to press forward

Your Trustees continue their efforts to save Nobska from the scrap heap. A major foundation continues its serious interest in this project. NESF's board is now updating our business plan to reflect the current situation. A major grant can be instrumental in floating the vessel again, and releasing her from the dry-dock where she has overstayed her welcome.

Need for your Contributions

Thanks to all who contributed last fall. NESF piled up some additional legal fees contesting the Admiralty court case last fall. Your gifts were essential to our efforts in court, and to making presentations before potential donors.
Other expenses have also mounted up. Among these was the cost of moving the main engine from New Bedford to Fall River. These expenses have again extended beyond our current funds.
Your help is urgently needed to keep the Foundation afloat. Please send a check to NESF, our address is. Or make a credit card payment.

Nobska's Steam Engine

Nobska's four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine is the heart and muscle of the venerable steamer. It is the primary feature that makes Nobska such an important candidate for preservation. Its design and operation were based on principles shared with the giant engines of Titanic and her sister ships, Olympic and Britannic. Those great White Star liners had the largest engines of this type ever built. All had the cranks on their main shafts balanced on the Yarrow-Schlick-Tweedy system. This made for particularly smooth operation, one of Nobska's well-remembered characteristics. The engines of Nobska and her three running mates on the Island Line were made from specific designs generated by Bath Iron Works, Nobska's builder.

In the late fall, the main engine sections were moved from the New Bedford Vocational School to storage at Fall River with the many engine parts already there. The engine has again been shrink-wrapped to protect it from the weather. Cost of this move has added to the Foundation's current need for funds.

Your Letter Can Help Nobska

Send it TODAY!

NESF is currently engaged in a letter-writing campaign to support selection of the Steamer Nobska as one of the Eleven Most Endangered Historic Resources in the United States. This list is designated each year by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Even a brief letter will help. These letters are an indication of public support for the ship and her preservation.

An operating Nobska will become one of only five historic passenger steamers from the 1920s or earlier to be in operation in the United States. She is the last vessel of the old New England Steamship Company. She is the last American coastal steamer (all of the others run on rivers or similar sheltered waters.) Nobska is important to the heritage of the Cape and Islands, New England, and the Atlantic Coast, as well as the Nation.
Historic ships are much rarer than historic buildings. Among ships, there has been much more interest over the years in preserving sailing ships than steamships like Nobska.

The decision of the National Trust will be made in early March, so send your message of support TODAY to:

National Trust for Historic Preservation
Office of Communications/ 11 Most Endangered
1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20036

Nobska's current situation

After delaying the action as long as possible, NESF signed over title of the vessel to the National Park Service in the fall, as approved by the membership at the 2004 annual meeting. This was done only on the eve of an Admiralty Court decision against us, which would have included a significant financial liability as well as loss of title to the ship. In voluntarily accepting the inevitable, we saved on additional legal fees, and received assurance that the Federal government would hold the Foundation harmless in the matter of the funds spent on the hull thus far.

As of this writing, no action has commenced to scrap the Nobska. Other forces are apparently delaying that for the present. We have some indication that, if we can secure funding to float the vessel before scrapping starts, the National Park Service will allow us to float the vessel out. Keep in mind that the N.P.S. has long recognized the significance of Nobska and has been reluctant to destroy her.

Officers and Trustees of the New England Steamship Foundation

Chairman/Acting President: Warren R. Hartwell; Secretary: Barry W. Eager; Treasurer: Robert Iadicicco

Trustees:

2006 Shelley Dawicki, Barry Eager, Robert A. Iadicicco, Richard Volkin, David Wolfendon

2007 James Campbell, Nancy Hartwell, Warren Hartwell, Robert Lamb

2008 Brian Dawicki, Michael Dawicki, Howard Gorin, Robert Young