Norwich - Their voyages run from Panama to Canada, and no matter which port the Nina and the Pinta happen to glide into, Kyle Friauf, the Nina's captain, sees the same reaction.

"They draw attention no matter where they go," Friauf said Sunday of the two replicas modeled after ships in Christopher Columbus' fleet.

"You put these boats in a marina with these mega yachts everywhere and people come down and look at these," Friauf added. "Because these are the boats that are interesting."

Sure enough, several families, history buffs and others hoping to satisfy their curiosity proved this point true over the weekend as the ships were docked at the Marina at American Wharf.

The two ships, owned by the Columbus Foundation, docked on Friday and were open to the public in conjunction with the annual Riverfest celebration on Saturday and the second annual multicultural festival on Sunday. Both ships will be on display daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Wednesday, with their departure tentatively set for Thursday morning, Friauf said.

That will give those from the region an opportunity to learn plenty of interesting facts about both ships before they head for Kittery, Maine, later in the week.

For instance, the replica Nina, finished in 1991, was built entirely by hand and featured in director Ridley Scott's movie "1492: Conquest of Paradise." The Pinta was built similarly and was finished in 2006. Both ships are covered in a distinctive black coat of tar, to mirror the original ships.

On Sunday afternoon, Ron Goldstein of Lebanon, toured both ships with his family. Goldstein shared a conversation with a Pinta crew member, who explained what it's like to be on the ship at sea.

"They roll left to right often, giving you the experience of a roller coaster," Goldstein said.

He also marveled at the stories from several crew members.

Both ships have two paid positions, a captain and a cook. The rest of the crew, which ranges from six to eight people, is comprised of volunteers.

Cole Lathrop, 19, is one of those volunteers on the Nina. He said Sunday that he was fixing his own boat in Stuart, Fla., when the replica ships docked nearby.

He jumped at the chance to spend time sailing on the open seas. He works about a 12-hour day along with other crew members, cleaning the deck and speaking with tourists when the ship is in port. At sea, the crews alternate shifts in various jobs.

At night, they sleep in a 5-foot-high chamber that Friauf compared to a single-car garage. Lathrop laughed when asked about his sleeping quarters, but he said he's enjoyed his six weeks on the Nina.

"I thought it would be a grand adventure and it's been above and beyond (what I expected)," Lathrop said. "It's been fantastic."

Rich and Arlene Daddona of Waterbury, also came to tour the Nina and Pinta on Sunday. The couple tried driving to see the ships on Saturday, but never made it after experiencing car trouble. That didn't deter them.

"How many times are you going to see something like this?" Rich Daddona said. "To think that they crossed the Atlantic (Ocean) in these is unbelievable."

jeff.johnson@theday.com