Half Moon

Half Moon is a replica of Halve Maen, the famed ship that English mariner Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson River in 1609. The ship was constructed between 1988 and 1989 at the Snow Dock in Albany, New York, its construction commissioned by Dr. Andrew Hendricks. The ship's construction fulfilled Dr. Hendricks' dream to use the historic icon as an educational instrument, bridging the gap between the American way of life and the Dutch heritage in New York state. In March 2015, the replica ship departed the Hudson River Valley to a new home, Hoorn, The Netherlands. In February 2019, it was announced that the Hoorn government would not extend their contract to serve as the Dutch homeport of the Half Moon. Hoorn's contract expired on April 1, 2020. The Half Moon is currently at port in Volendam, Netherlands. The board of directors of the New Netherland Museum have not announced what the future of the ship may hold. History Construction In 1988, Dr. Andrew Hendricks commissioned the construction of a full-scale replica of Halve Maen, the famed ship sailed by English mariner, Henry Hudson in 1609. Master ship-rigger and shipwright, Nicholas S. Benton, President of the Rigging Gang of Middleton was hired to design and build the replica. It took an entire year to build the Half Moon. To prepare for the build, Benton visited maritime museums in the Netherlands and the United States. On June 19, 1989, Benton was working on a mast of a schooner in the City of Rensselaer when the mast snapped and he fell to his death. Benton was only 35 years old. Many of the plans for the Half Moon's construction were never documented, and without Benton, the New Netherland Museum had to continue the process on their own, weighing out the kinks along the way.