"The Ancient Mariner"

She has weak knees, her front and rear ends sag, and Quentin Snediker worries about what else he may find when he digs deeper into her stout frame.

Snediker is director of the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. The weak-kneed "she," the Charles W. Morgan, is the world's last surviving wooden whaling ship, among Connecticut's most popular tourist attractions.

Launched in 1841 in New Bedford, Mass., the Morgan sailed until 1921. It made 37 voyages, the longest almost five years. In 1941, the ship arrived at Mystic Seaport, where it spent much of its life embedded in a berth of sand.

Since being refloated in 1973, the Morgan has been maintained and refurbished faithfully. After being hauled out of the water in November, it is now in dry dock undergoing a three-year, $5-million restoration, the most extensive yet. Snediker and eight professional shipwrights have been charged with rebuilding and replacing many of the ship's frames and interior planking.