Actually the famous WW2 battleships HMS Nelson and Rodney had the boilers aft of the engines.
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Well, that's just because those ships were weird.

The manliest, most American barometer ever made. The curator at the nautical instrument shop was completely humorless and didn't really like it when my aunt Katie asked if chronometers were ever stolen for their black market value. Thankfully, all the other curators loved talking to people!
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Walking along the riverside, I noticed a blue crab staring back at me! Too bad the picture came out like crap.
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Another interesting building is the ropewalk, a 250-foot long portion of the 1,000-foot long Plymouth Cordage Company. Many of the historical buildings at Mystic are the real deal, and actually provided gear and equipment for ships built in New England in the late 1800s. They were later dissembled, moved to Mystic, and rebuilt their. The ropewalk was long and dark, and this in the only good shot I got. Again, I'm sure there are those here could stare at a pile of ropes for five minutes.
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The Joseph Conrad was originally the Danish sailing ship George Stage. The Australian sailor Alan Villiers saved her from the scrappers in the early 1930s, and sailed her around the world in 1934 through 1936. With the name change came a new figurehead.
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Real Age of Sail geeks came name each of these ropes. These means I'm not a real Age of Sail geek.
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In science fiction, spaceships are twice as big on the inside as they are on the outside. In real life, ships are half the size on the inside as they are on the outside. The Conrad is only 110 feet long from the tip of the forecastle to the stern.
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A pirate's life is the life for me... unless you have vertigo, that is.
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Normally, at around 2:00 the Seaport does a demonstration of working aloft onboard the Conrad. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough volunteers on hand to perform it, so we were treated to a couple of sea shanteys by the museum staff and by Danny Spooner. I later learned the Danny Spooner is a bit of a legend in the Australian folk music scene, and has been putting out albums since 1965!

One man did go aloft, and although he was wearing a safety harness and didn't go any higher than the main topsail yard, quite a few people in attendance were still cringing!
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This is an anchor from a British 74-gun ship. The official story is that it's owner lost it during blockade duty during the War of 1812. It's as big as you'd expect.
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And here's a model of a 74-gun ship, which the plaque says was built in 1722. The curator told us this model was built at the same rate the ship was. Basically, the model-builders would go down to the shipyard, add whatever parts to the model which had been added to the ship, and return the model to the Admiralty so they could gauge the process of the ship's construction. This have them more time with ridiculous bureaucracy and red tape.
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I can't argue with you there. I was just sayin'...

That is something special. All carved by had, of course.

Still, I can see him smiling for the camera. I wonder if his picture came out any better.

Neither am I, really. I do have a book with every single one named, so I can find out quickly if anyone should wonder.

Thirty years ago I would have gladly volunteered for the top. These days I can't climb the ratlines, so vertigo isn't a question.

There is a wonderful scene at the end of one of the Hornblower episodes that has Ioan Gruffud and some other cast members standing atop the highest yard while the ship is underway!

And that's how you build a truly accurate model! :rock:

Time for some odds and ends.

The museum has a pretty impressive collection of figureheads, though me, being Mr. Observant, can't remember the names of the ships they came from. Here's three of them.

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Wall of scary looking stuff. Anybody else see the tiny anchor?
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The famous Mystic River bascule bridge.
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Closeup of the Sabino's funnel.
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Inside the General Store. The curator spent a while explaining how the "plunger" you see in the bottom left corner worked. It was actually part of a 19th century "washing machine."
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The Pharmacist's office. Mystic Seaport has a number of buildings in it's recreated village, like a general store, pharmacist, cooperage, school, church, and a couple of old homes. Some are more interesting than others. YMMV.
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I wonder how many people were killed by these "miracle cures" back then?
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A really ornate cast iron furnace. Nobody would ever put this kind of a craftsmanship into such a utilitarian device these days. Then again, I'm convinced that everything looks the same now.
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Okay, let's wrap this up.

A little thing I cobbled together to show how far the Morgan has come since May 2012.
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The shipyard gets visitors after closing.
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Every good medicine shop had at least one of these.
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I don't know why I took so many pictures of the Roann, so here's another.
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I suppose I find old fishing boats more interesting than the dozens of McMansions on the other side of the river.

Did anyone else notice the creepy faces in the anchor?

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About the ropewalk. I remember an old ropewalk building across the street from the Seaport Museum. When I was there, one of the guides told us it was in such bad shape that they couldn't open it to the public, but there were plans to restore it. Is that the same building you have in your picture?