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So often we experience New York by train, car, and on foot, but what about by boat? Well, the South Street Seaport Museum recently revived public rides on its red-and-yellow W.O. Decker, the last tugboat ever built in New York. The historic ship, first constructed in 1930, will allow patrons to gaze at key city marvels in a new way, cruising by the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Skyline over the course of a 75-minute ride.
This marks the first time South Street Seaport is offering rides on the historic Decker since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 52-foot wooden tugboat was first built in 1930, back when industrial ships heavily dotted the East River. The ship was donated to South Street Seaport in 1986 and then added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
The W.O. Decker will run on Saturdays through August 21, 2021. There will be three scheduled rides throughout the day, the ship leaving shore at 1:15pm, 2:45pm, and 4:15pm. Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors/students, and $15 for kids, and can be purchased in advance on the museum’s website.
South Street Seaport Museum is also currently hosting exhibitions that touch on the sociological and historical importance of ships. The first exhibition, Street of Ships, looks at New York’s ports during the 19th century and how maritime trade helped elevate the city to global prominence. Millions, the second exhibition on view, deconstructs some of our romanticized thinking around traveling by ship and unpacks the wildly different treatment first-class, working-class, and immigrant travelers have experienced onboard throughout history.
You can find more about the South Street Seaport Museum and riding W.O. Decker here.