For years, Cover Day was an informal tradition marking the changing of seasons for the U.S. Brig Niagara. As autumn faded, the ship’s rigging and spars were carefully stowed away, and the brig’s expert crew and dedicated volunteers, worked together to cover the ship for winter. The event was more than just a task—it was a communal gathering filled with camaraderie, shared stories of the past sailing season, and anticipation for the year ahead. Donuts were passed around, laughter echoed across the deck, and by the end of the effort, the ship was protected from the harsh elements of Erie’s winter. It safeguarded the ship from Erie’s unforgiving winters, enabling maintenance and preservation tasks, and ensuring readiness for another sailing season. Traditionally, the entirety of this work was completed by the end of November taking roughly a week’s work (a Saturday work party, some weekday effort, and a second Saturday if needed).

Today, it’s February. Spring is nearly upon us, yet Niagara remains only marginally covered. And Erie has noticed. Most recently, on February 4, 2025 a local history group named Project Algerine shared a post on Facebook highlighting this failure. The post went viral, accumulating hundreds of reactions and shares. The ship, now in its second winter under PHMC’s management, still sits exposed to the elements. Well into winter, PHMCThe Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the state agency that stewards the U.S. Brig Niagara and Erie Maritime Museum. The PHMC is responsible for the collect... has only got 1/4 of the cover installed. They’ve only been working on Saturdays (no weekdays), and the Captain is currently away at the annual convention for tall ships. 

With PHMC managing the ship themselves, even if it ultimately takes PHMC the same number of man hours, working only on Saturdays and with fewer people, the winter cover might not be fully installed until March. Captain Bailey has suggested he’d like the ship to head to shipyard as early as March. Note: Last week PHMC claimed the shipyard RFP (request for proposals, where shipyards in the state’s approved vendor list can bid on the job) would be posted any day now, so we’ll see how that timeline works out…

Is PHMC always this slow? In Jan 2024, when a winter storm shredded Niagara’s cover, PHMC brought in staff from their other sites and hired a boom lift. It took them three weeks to respond to the shredded cover, but when they finally did their crew re-covered the ship in 4.5 days. Now in 2025, the ship sits 1/4 covered after two weeks of effort. 

When the cover shredded in Jan 2024, PHMC only took action after Protect Brig Niagara published a photo of the neglect. This time, Project Algerine’s Feb 4, 2025 post seems to have again mobilized PHMC into PR damage control. PHMC did not issue any clear public response to these cover concerns (so much for transparency). But a PHMC representative did reply directly to an email inquiry which got reposted in the comments on Project Algerine’s thread. Among other things, Erie Maritime MuseumThe Erie Maritime Museum (EMM) is a cultural institution located in Erie, Pennsylvania, dedicated to preserving and showcasing the region's maritime heritage. Established in 1997, ... (EMM) Site Administrator Jim HallJames E. Hall is the Site Administrator for the Erie Maritime Museum and a PHMC staff member. He replaced Walter Rybka in December of 2020. His background includes 13 years with th... said that having the ship uncovered is actually not a big deal, the cover is not really necessary, these things take time, and listed reasons the public should have patience. (Hall’s reposted email: screen shot 1, screen shot 2; To jump to additional notes on Hall’s email at the bottom of this page, click here.) The same evening (Feb 4), local news station WJET delivered a generic but mildly positive story announcing that work is progressing on Niagara’s cover and will continue “later this week” (Jim Hall’s email clarifies that “later this week” means Saturday). The timing of this news coverage mere hours after Project Algerine’s post caught fire seems just a little bit suspect. WJET certainly didn’t dig into or question PHMC’s claims. (Calm down everyone. Nothing to see here…) Especially after WJET’s Jan 14 coverage on Niagara’s cover which expressed a bit more concern over the state of affairs: “PHMC representatives said they anticipate having the new cover in hand in the next two weeks, which will be installed onto the ship immediately.” It doesn’t quite seem like “immediate” action to us. Just more unfulfilled PHMC promises…

Note: Oh, how the tables have turned. In the linked message above, Jim Hall asks the community for their patience and understanding. In 2021 and 2023 when Niagara’s return from shipyard had to occur in Dec and Nov respectively, PHMC did not offer the same patience and courtesy to FNL, and were frustrated that the cover wasn’t installed immediately upon return from the exhausting shipyard work periods and winter transit. But now that PHMC is in charge of the ship? Please have patience, these things take time…

PHMC’s Consistently Poor Planning & Execution

Since PHMC announced they were taking over management and operation of Niagara in Jan 2024, Protect Brig Niagara has expressed concern about PHMC’s ability to properly plan and execute… pretty much any project. (You can find two detailed examples of PHMC’s poor project management and planning in our article PHMC Reprimanded by Auditor General, Part 1.)

This isn’t an argument about whether the state should be in charge of Niagara, but whether the people currently tasked with it have the capacity to do it responsibly. Those concerns are based on our past observations of their project management and leadership. Did PHMC not realize installing a cover on Niagara is a difficult and time consuming process? That it requires many man hours? That thick fabric in such large sections is enormously heavy to lift all the way to the peak of the frame? Or that it takes extra time to figure out how to install anything new? Why didn’t they anticipate those things and mobilize the proper resources to get it installed in a timely fashion? Why didn’t they order the cover earlier so it could have been installed before winter? For that matter, why didn’t they order it in 2022 or 2023 when FNL told them it was needed?

Note: Yes, PHMC was told a new cover was needed for two years in a row, and still chose not to order it until late in 2024. Not only that, but in Hall’s email reply (see the screenshots linked above), he claims the measurements for the new cover couldn’t be taken until after the frame was installed this fall. But PHMC didn’t even take the frame off the ship this year until June 2024. I repeat: Under PHMC’s management in 2024, the winter cover and frame did not come off until late June 2024. They took it off in a heat wave (90s and 100-degree temps). They are now putting the cover on in below freezing temps. They have been in charge since January 2024 so really, they should have had time to figure this out. But Hall asks for patience, because these things take time…

What about resource planning? PHMC has said bringing the ship’s management in-house will save money. But they seem to speak out of both sides of their mouth on a regular basis. In EMM Site Administrator Jim Hall’s Feb 4 reply to the cover concerns (screen shot links above), he says that the cover isn’t actually necessary for the ship’s safety, especially since he claims some of the deck planks will be replaced at shipyard anyway. 

1. If the cover is not necessary, then why did you expend the resources on it at all? Why not wait until after shipyard to order it? Or at least wait till after shipyard to install it? 

2. If it was important to order now and install now, then why didn’t you set aside the resources required to prioritize it and get the job done in a timely fashion? 

It can’t be both things. It’s either important (and they didn’t put the proper planning and resources behind it), or it’s unimportant (and they are wasting time, money, and energy that they could be putting towards other things). It can’t be unimportant and important at the same time. So which is it? 

How do we fix this?

Protect Brig Niagara has been the most consistently vocal group expressing concerns about PHMC’s management of the U.S. Brig Niagara. But from the way Project Algerine’s post mobilized strong responses, it’s clear that many others in our community have deep concerns about what’s going on with the ship. (Or rather, what’s not going on with the ship). 

We at Protect Brig Niagara want transparency, accountability, and action from PHMC. With this winter cover project we see them slow to take action on their own, failing to plan resources and timelines appropriately for the project’s needs, and communicating poorly after the fact instead of proactively and with transparency. It’s the same thing we’ve seen from them over, and over, and over again. So, where is the accountability for these mediocre outcomes? Who’s the watchdog for the ship’s proper care and taxpayer investment in her? 

If you have concerns please let your legislators know. PHMC falls under the office of the Governor but your local representatives can also make the case to hold them accountable. We want transparency and accountability. We want proper care of our ship. It doesn’t really seem like anyone else is going to do that for us. It only seems to happen when we raise our voices together. 

Don’t Give up The Ship

Katie Z.

Additional Notes on Jim Hall’s email reply: Hall incorrectly states that there has only been one cover day. Volunteers were called to participate for a cover day on Saturday Jan 25, but ended up only working on chafe gear (protection from rubbing) without actually progressing to any work on the cover. (I believe the chafe gear was too difficult to put on and eventually abandoned.) As a result, Hall is calling Saturday, Feb 1 as the first day working on the cover. But in reality, volunteers were invited and expected to work on cover installation for both those Saturdays. That first cover day (Jan 25) was definitely icy, and at least one volunteer slipped and fell on the uncleared deck. Pictures posted on Facebook by a volunteer on the second cover day (Feb 1) show the deck still blanketed in ice and snow. So, contrary to Hall’s claims in his reply about daily maintenance, Niagara does not appear to be receiving the same level of daily maintenance and care as she has in the past (when the deck was cleared fully before the start of any work-day’s effort). The evidence we have seen does not support the claims Hall is making.