The Sabino is a historic, small wooden steamboat built in 1908, now located at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut. Measuring approximately 57 feet in length, the vessel was constructed at the W. Irving Adams shipyard in East Boothbay, Maine. Originally christened as the Tourist on May 7, 1908, she was initially used as a ferry for the Damariscotta Steamboat Company along the Damariscotta River in Maine. After an accident caused her to sink in 1918, she was salvaged and later sold in 1921 to the Popham Beach Steamboat Company, at which point she was renamed Sabino, in honor of the Abenaki sagamore Sabenoa. Throughout her service life, Sabino operated in various capacities, including ferrying passengers from Portland to islands in Casco Bay under the Cape Shore Ferry Company, and later with Casco Bay Lines. To improve stability in open water, sponsons were added in 1928. After many years of service, she was eventually placed in reserve but returned to operation in 1956. In 1958, she was sold to private owners who undertook extensive repairs and upgrades, aligning her with Coast Guard regulations for passenger vessels. In 1971, Sabino was acquired by Steamship Sabino Inc., which operated her on the Merrimack River between Newburyport and Salisbury Beach, providing both day and jazz cruises. Her voyage to Mystic Seaport in 1974 nearly ended her when rough seas caused engine room flooding, but she was rescued and subsequently restored by the museum. Recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1992, Sabino has been preserved as a working exhibit, offering rides and educational tours. In recent years, she was fitted with a diesel-electric engine in 2023, allowing her to operate daily under electric power, with the capacity to run her original steam engine. Sabino remains an important maritime artifact, exemplifying early 20th-century American steamboat design and service, and continues to operate at the Mystic Seaport Museum, carrying approximately 33,000 passengers annually.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.