By MICHAEL HILL | March 8, 2016 | 11:25 AM EST  –  CNS News

KINGSTON, N.Y. (AP) — Folk legend Pete Seeger helped dream up the sloop Clearwater in the 1960s as symbol of efforts to rid pollution from the Hudson River. Now, the river is cleaner and the old boat needs restoring.

Workers this winter are stripping planks off the hull of the 106-foot sloop and replacing parts of its frame for a massive overhaul for the Clearwater. And while the $850,000 price tag is putting a strain on the not-for-profit that runs the ship, it is still committed to the goal of getting the vessel back on the river by mid-June.

“I can’t imagine the Hudson River without the Clearwater sailing on it. It’s a really important part of Pete’s environmental legacy. It’s just not an option to fail getting this boat together,” said Dave Conover, newly appointed interim executive director of the sloop’s eponymous parent organization.

Seeger, who died in 2014 at the age 94, lived on a bluff overlooking the river. Back in the ’60s, when the Hudson was notoriously fouled by sewage and factory waste, he promoted the idea of building a boat to get people to “learn to love their river again.” Organizers who held a naming contest rejected possibilities like Sojourner Truth and Sewer Rat for one evocative of its mission: Clearwater….  read more here

Editor’s Note: I spent some time laying in the bilge water with Pete while we repaired the Clearwater’s keel. What a glorious boat and mission.