Visit to the Maine Maritime Museum
The Wyoming was a wooden six-masted
schooner, the largest wooden schooner ever built. She was
built and completed in 1909 by the firm of Percy & Small
(site of the current Maine Maritime Museum) in Bath, Maine.
The Wyoming was also one of the largest wooden ships ever
built, the longest wooden ship ever built, 450 ft (140 m)
from jibboom tip to spanker boom tip, and the last six-mast
schooner built on the east coast of the US.
Because of the extreme length of the Wyoming and
its wood construction, it tended to flex in heavy seas, which
would cause the long planks to twist and buckle, thereby allowing
sea water to intrude into the hold. The Wyoming had
to use pumps to keep its hold relatively free of water. In
March 1924, it foundered in heavy seas and sank with the loss
of all hands.
Museum exhibit showing the Wyoming
Life-size sculpture of Wyoming the
largest wooden sailing vessel ever built.
Launching of the Wyoming, December
16, 1909
Six-masted schooner Wyoming setting
sail off the mouth of the Kennebec River, 1909
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