Dear ebtrr,

Thanks for the pictures. I will make a couple of corrections for you.

The USS Texas has been a Texas State Park ever since she went on display in 1948.

Up to about 1990 she was aground in her display site. When they refloated her to take her to a near by dry dock they found the entire double bottom flooded and in some cases the compartments above it open to the sea. She was sinking all the way to the shipyard!

They built a new bottom. This is ordinary shipbuilding steel; not the armour plate used higher up on the hull. She is now floating not aground.

She was the first battleship to be dry docked and repaired; the Navy said this is the ship we think is important and so they kicked in some money. They also said "Do not expect to see this every time" The Massachusetts was hauled with state bond issue money.

Ted Miles

Thanks for the correction. What I was trying to say (from memory, unsuccessfully) is that not until 1983 was she under the control of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, but under the Battleship Texas Commission which was unable to keep up with the maintenance of the ship



Below is the passage from Wikipedia that I was referring to as far as the permanent drydocking.

"On 6 November 2007, Texas voters approved $25 million in funds to dry-berth the ship to prevent further deterioration from the corrosive waters of the ship channel.[73] This solution will permanently cradle the ship in a dry berth at her current location. Accordingly, the depth of the current slip will be increased to 38 ft (12 m) below sea level before driving over 1,000 concrete piles into the bottom soil to support a 5 ft (1.5 m) thick 108,800 sq ft (10,110 m2) concrete foundation. A cradle of 1,500 ft (460 m) of concrete pylon beams and cribbing will rest upon this foundation and support the ship. This entire structure will be enclosed by a 1,680 ft (510 m) long cofferdam with a concrete sidewalk and viewing platform on the top, all of which is projected to be completed by the centennial of the construction of the ship in 2011.[65] When complete, Texas will be the first ship of her size to be permanently dry-docked.[65][A 9]"

For ships like this, could they build a dam/barrier around the ship and chemically treat the water to stop corrosion?

The Maritime Museum of San Diego has done some rather pioneering work on hull preservation the last few years. Included in their collection is the Star of India, an 1863 iron hulled bark that was in merchant service that saw her go around the world something like 20 times, and the Berkeley, an SP-owned San Francisco Bay ferry built in 1898 by Union Iron Works.

Quoting that museum's web site(http://www.sdmaritime.org) "The Berkeley’s hull underwent a revolutionary hull restoration process during the spring of 2003 that is expected to last for 50 years and may serve as the benchmark for the preservation of historic iron and steel hulled ships around the world." As I recall, this was some type of polymer coating, that required the ship to be dry-docked. But, after the coating, she is fully floating, tied up to her pier.

Star of India is the oldest active ship in the world: they tow her out to sea with a tug, and she then sails on her own for several hours, before returning to port on her own, winds permitting (the winds usually cooperate). They do this about once a year, although she was not sailed in 2009; I believe her hull was having a treatment similar to the Berkeley.

These ships are certainly not as large as the Olympia or other battleships, but the process used here in San Diego might make better economic sense than building a permanent dry dock.

One of the most successful aircraft carrier museums is also in San Diego, the USS Midway. Certainly not as old as the other ships discussed here (1945), I don't know what, if any, special treatment has been done to the hull below the waterline.

Jim.

Having spent quite a bit of time at fleet landing in San Diego in the late '60s, is the Midway at the same location or close to where fleet landing used to be? From what pictures I've seen, it sure looks like it is. Thanks.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Mr. Ed: Yes, you are correct. The Midway is berthed on the South side of Navy Pier. Fleet Landing was just south of that, if I remember correctly. Or was Fleet Landing just North of that, between Navy and Broadway Piers? Amazing. I grew up on the waterfront, and can't remember exactly how it was.

Jim

When you went down Broadway to fleet landing, you had to make a left. But after all of these years, I forget just how many blocks it was. I wish I could go back for a few days to see how much the city has changed. I was always pushing for a company sales meeting in San Diego but it never happened. We used to tie up at the buoy in the middle of the harbor for a little free time away from prying eyes. I used to know the number of it but that too has evaporated.

Later!
Mr. Ed

The official press release:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/85456487.html

Last night I watched a show on National Geographic about the rich of the world who paid up to $137,000.00 each to move their yachts from Italy to Florida. Maybe they could ask those filthy rich folks to pony up some donations to keep this valuable piece of history from becoming extinct.

Later!
Mr. Ed

It's interesting to note that as of now there is no mention of this upcoming move on their web site? Is someone ashamed?

The Olympia has always been a thorn in the side of the Seaport Museum... I am sure there would be no tears shed from Museum Management if it sank and turned into a pile of rust tomorrow.

Considering the political connections the ISM has, they should have NO problems raising the funds for its' restoration. But the "boys club" mentality of the museum reigns and they only fund what they want to.

I would love to see a full financial report on just what exactly this museum has done over the years with its' funding from the City and other agencies, outside of the Olympia and Becuna upkeep. The museum building itself is full of models and interpritive displays for kids.

In the 1980's there were more ships on display at Penns Landing and more activities related to actual maritime history than there is today.

Sad.