Seaport Museum Offers Cruises On 1930s Wooden Tugboat In FiDi

SOUTH STREET SEAPORT, NY — A historic, wooden tugboat built in 1930 is open to the public for cruises through the South Street Seaport Museum.

The tugboat, called the W.O. Decker, was open to public cruises for the first time in 10 years in May, and the museum has now added 10 additional cruise times each week.

The cruise offers a 60-minute tour with views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Lower Manhattan's skyline on the Decker, which is the last remaining wooden tugboat built in New York, the South Street Seaport Museum said.

Built in 1930 by the Newtown Creek Towing Company, it was first named Russell I. Later, it was renamed W.O. Decker in 1946 when the tugboat was sold to a Staten Island tugboat firm owned by the Decker family. The boat was donated to the museum in 1986.

"This unique vessel is a true testament to New York City's maritime heritage, which is a direct factor in the city's global prominence today," the museum, located at 12 Fulton St., said in a release about the new schedule.

Cruises are available Wednesday through Friday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 1:30, 3, 4:30, and 7 p.m.

Cruise tickets as well as museum admission are $35.

Tickets are also available at $29 for seniors and students, $15 for children.

For the 7 p.m. cruises, tickets are $25, but do not include museum admission.