Tabor Boy

Dutch Pilot Schooner

Tabor Boy is a 92-foot Dutch Pilot Schooner with an interesting history before she became a Coast Guard certified Sailing School Vessel (SSV). In 2006, D.N. Kelley & Sons shipyard in Fairhaven, MA, subcontracted NorEast Marine Systems to do a total refit.

Built in 1914 near Amsterdam, as Bestevaer, she was a training ship for the Dutch merchant marine until her capture by the Germans in World War II. After the war, she was returned to Holland.

In 1952, an American businessman, Ralph C. Allen purchased her and sailed her to the US. Two years later, he presented her to Tabor Academy, a prestigious New England Prep School in Marion, Massachusetts.

Today, SSV Tabor Boy has logged tens of thousands of miles with her crews of students between Maine and the Caribbean Sea.  While she is equipped with up-to-date safety gear and navigation, she still looks like a classic schooner with her square topsail rig.

NorEast was responsible for the total refit, including:

• Rebuilt water maker
• New refrigeration
• Rewired AC/DC electrical panels
• New plumbing for all domestic water
• Re-designed engine room
• Air-conditioning not installed, due to her nature as a training vessel