[4] Sabino was built in the W. Irving Adams shipyard in East Boothbay, Maine, and the 57-foot vessel was christened as Tourist on May 7, 1908.

[5] On October 8, 1921, she was sold to the Popham Beach Steamboat Company on the Kennebec River, and the new owners changed the vessel's name to Sabino in honor of Abenaki sagamore Sabenoa.

In 1971, the Sabino was sold to C. Bruce Brown, Joseph Pulvino, and Philip Corbin's son Jim, doing business as Steamship Sabino Inc. Jim was made part of the corporation because neither Pulvino nor Brown had any practical experience running a steamboat.

Brown was an insurance salesman and Pulvino was an aeronautical engineer with the General Electric Company in Lynn, Massachusetts.

Dana Terell from Cape Elizabeth, Maine was hired as the captain, and Pulvino approached the Commander of the US Coast Guard in Boston and asked for an engineering license.

Pulvino explained the situation and it was agreed that, if he could pass the examination to be a marine engineer, the Commander would issue a license limited to the Sabino.

The Mystic Seaport shipyard experts recalked her bottom, and she became a popular attraction, prompting the museum to purchase her.

The seaport has operated her as a working exhibit since, giving rides to visitors (except during a full restoration from 2014 to 2017, and during 2020 due to the COVID pandemic).