It's always going to be a delicate balance between accessability and opportunity, and there will always be some who seek to exploit opportunities for "personal enrichment" in ways we don't intend.
I'd give almost anything to see onboard interpretation people moving through Torsk, educating visitors while subtly discouraging the kind of miscreantism that has occurred on all of these boats at one time in the past. Sadly, that's always a matter of finances, and museums are about the lowest on most folks' lists of non-profits to support. And while there may be lots of folks who do care for and respect these vessels, there are likely many, many more who could give a damn about smelly old smoke boats. It's the casual disinteresteds that worry me - the one that wander through with nothing better to do who see a shiny and decide to help themselves, since they already feel they're getting nothing of value from the experience as it is.
We're just not going to be able to stop the professionals for very long; the best we can hope for is enough deterrance to slow them down to the point that they feel the risk of being observed is too great. But the casual opportunists who don't know better, or the "I-know-just-enough-to-get-in-trouble" folks - those are the ones who we have to really take care for.
I look at how much work Torsk has had done, and how much further we want to go, and I wonder, in moments of frustraton, how much further we'd be, were it not for those members of the public who missed the ethics lessons. It's a battle we don't have to lose, but it's one that may take a few more dollars than many are either willing to give, or can even afford.
