Maine's First Ship
Maine's First Ship
4.5
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
About
Maine’s First Ship strives to use our reconstruction of the 1607 pinnace Virginia to immerse the public in an exploration of the region’s early history, craftsmanship, and relationships, and their impact on our community and environment today. We have public sailings and tours from July-October. See the website for details
Duration: < 1 hour
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
31 reviews
Excellent
23
Very good
7
Average
1
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kate m
Newburyport, MA38 contributions
Aug 2023 • Friends
Our volunteer tour guide, John, did a great job educating us about the first settlers' experiences and the ship Virginia built soon after their arrival. We enjoyed hearing the stories of the ship and Popham, Maine where our friend has a summer home. We admire the 12 years volunteers have spent creating the replica of the Virginia and look forward to going back when we can actually board the ship. The docents were all enthusiastic and knowledgeable.
Written 7 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
NHjo
Saco, ME14,420 contributions
Oct 2022
It was fascinating to view the replica of Maine's first ocean-going ship, the 1607 pinnace Virginia, and learn how it was reconstructed. The historic Bath Freight Shed was built in 1890 and has its own amazing story. It's also used for public events and Bath's winter farmers market.
Written 16 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joseph K
Charleston, SC1 contribution
Aug 2014 • Family
We visited Maine's First Ship--really a shipyard--on the bank of the Kennebec River in Bath. It's a replica of the first ship built in British America, a pinnace called the "Virginia," constructed at the Popham Colony, which last just one year in Maine. One of the volunteer shipwrights, Jay Caffee, gave us a great tour of the half-constructed ship, patiently explaining all of the construction techniques. Roxanne, the very hospitable docent, made us feel welcome and had a wealth of information. This is not your usual, slick tourist site: it's a working site, with 400-year-old carpentry techniques on display, a modest display area, and, the real attraction, the Virginia itself, the bones of the vessel like a giant dinosaur on its back. It's a small site, where you can talk to the shipwrights and carpenters one-on-one. A great stop.
Written 6 August 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HOWARD Z
West Palm Beach, Florida, USA78 contributions
Jun 2019 • Family
We visited the USS Virginia which is a replica of a boat used by the first colonists to the area. They built this boat so that they could return to Europe.
There is a small exhibit area in the barn that has interesting ship parts and actual masts and spars that will be used on the boat.
The ship is being built by volunteers and whenever possible they are constructing with tools and techniques of the era....quite a challenge!
They expect to reach completion is 343 days! Good luck! Check schedule....not open every day.
There is a small exhibit area in the barn that has interesting ship parts and actual masts and spars that will be used on the boat.
The ship is being built by volunteers and whenever possible they are constructing with tools and techniques of the era....quite a challenge!
They expect to reach completion is 343 days! Good luck! Check schedule....not open every day.
Written 3 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Birgit Z
Watertown, NY1 contribution
Aug 2015 • Couples
We visited Maine's first ship today. The replica is being build right now.
Big "Thank You" to Roxanne, who is very knowledgeable, and gave us a great history lesson, not only on the Virginia but also on the Maine Colony Popham. Can't wait to come back and see the progress of the Virginia.
Big "Thank You" to Roxanne, who is very knowledgeable, and gave us a great history lesson, not only on the Virginia but also on the Maine Colony Popham. Can't wait to come back and see the progress of the Virginia.
Written 25 August 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Protraveler02
Cleveland, OH118 contributions
Jul 2019
My wife and I tripped across this place while wandering around Bath. A very low glitz experience but very real and personal. Learned all kinds of things I didn't know and was amazed by the the ship building.
Definitely worth a visit, even if you only have a short time to spend. Or slow down a bit and spend some time soaking in this experience.
No admission charge, just a donation. Once you see this, you'll be glad too donate.
Definitely worth a visit, even if you only have a short time to spend. Or slow down a bit and spend some time soaking in this experience.
No admission charge, just a donation. Once you see this, you'll be glad too donate.
Written 30 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wendy P
United States128 contributions
Aug 2019
We found this by chance and dropped in - so glad that we did.
As previous reviewers have said this is a project to built a 'replica' of the Virginia which was built in Maine in 1607, 13 years before the Mayflower arrived, and designed to explore the US coast but sailed across the Atlantic.
The volunteers were amazing and you can go right into the boat shed and talk about how they started, where they acquired their timber, problems they have encountered, where they are now and plans for the future.
It is an amazing place which shows what a group of volunteers can achieve when they all work together. The time they are devoting to achieve this, the spirit and determination is infectious.
We are returning to England before the launch date but will watch the progress with great interest,
As previous reviewers have said this is a project to built a 'replica' of the Virginia which was built in Maine in 1607, 13 years before the Mayflower arrived, and designed to explore the US coast but sailed across the Atlantic.
The volunteers were amazing and you can go right into the boat shed and talk about how they started, where they acquired their timber, problems they have encountered, where they are now and plans for the future.
It is an amazing place which shows what a group of volunteers can achieve when they all work together. The time they are devoting to achieve this, the spirit and determination is infectious.
We are returning to England before the launch date but will watch the progress with great interest,
Written 21 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
9605etterunner
Orlando, FL12 contributions
Oct 2019
Jim was very knowledgable and we learned a lot. Displays were very interesting. Unusal to see a period ship in process of being constructred on site.
Written 30 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
newfound721
New Haven, CT58 contributions
Aug 2019
We learned all about shipbuilding at the Maine Maritime Museum, and to see the Virginia being built with the same process was happily serendipitous. This is a work of love, and worth seeing. Check their website for hours as they are not open every day.
Written 28 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ltoplee
Wells, ME24 contributions
Aug 2019
Great history on Maine’s First Ship. The guide was a good historian that was very knowledgeable. We enjoyed the visit
Written 7 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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