The Maryland Dove is a modern working maritime exhibit built in 1978 to represent a typical mid-17th-century pinnace, a small vessel used for trading and exploring that could cross oceans but was primarily used along the Atlantic coast. Because evidence from the original 1634 Dove was too limited for an exact reproduction, its design was based on careful study of 16th- and 17th-century records, with William A. Baker as architect and James B. Richardson as shipwright. Operated as a living history vessel, it gives visitors firsthand experience of the labor of a colonial sailor, makes several goodwill visits each year to ports in the Chesapeake region, and was fitted with two diesel auxiliary engines in 1988 so it could sail in calm weather. To guard against worm damage and rot, it is inspected and repaired every winter, with a volunteer crew assisting in its operation and maintenance. The vessel measures 76 feet overall, with a deck length of 56 feet, a waterline length of 51 feet, a beam of 17 feet, a draft of 6½ to 7 feet, a capacity of 42 tons, about 1,965 square feet of sail area, and a main mast rising 64 feet above the waterline.