Battleship North Carolina BB-55

85 gt kid

85 gt kid

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Joined
Sep 7, 2013
Messages
439
Location
Roanoke Va
Hey guys I finally got to tour the North Carolina on Tuesday and I took a few pics for everyone :rolleyes:. She looked pretty good but I feel like the Massachusetts was a little more open but I still had a blast (although the 5 hour drive back home dragggggsssss). I've already emailed them about volunteering to do some painting so well see maybe I'll be back up there soon :biggrin:.

330 pics so enjoy. Tour starts on page 14 (for some reason the pics went in a backwards order :slap:
Battleship North Carolina 2013 Photos by 85gtkid | Photobucket
 
Those are really great pictures 85, thanks for taking the time to post them!

The North Carolina has a great LinkedIn page which is managed by Heather Loftin. She does a great job keeping us informed.

Mark
 
So they build the cofferdam and pump the water out. I understand that much. Hull repairs above the bilge would be pretty straight forward, sort of. What about the bottom? Won't she be resting on/in the mud? Seems like it would be really tough to tunnel under areas needing repair. That sounds like a serious job.
 
Yiu can't. Since shes in the mud you don't have to worry about water TOO much but you gotta wonder what the support structure looks like after all these years :slap:. She needs a drydock (Alabama too).
 
85 gt kid said:
Yiu can't. Since shes in the mud you don't have to worry about water TOO much but you gotta wonder what the support structure looks like after all these years :slap:. She needs a drydock (Alabama too).
Click to expand...

You are DAMN RIGHT about needing a dry dock. The chemicals, abrasive grit and water currents swirling the grit around can actually wear holes in the hull.

That's why when I was contacted on the prospective home ports for the Iowa class Battleships, I always INSISTED that there be a minimum of four feet of clearance between the port bottom and the bilge keel at MEAN LOW LOW TIDE. So far, thankfully, Norfolk, Camden, Honolulu and San Pedro has heeded my words.
 
Plus on a paint part i cant see them leaving a cut off line where they can't go any further as holding up well but i could be wrong.

I don't know about everyone but i gotta say thank you Rusty for insisting that. From seeing ships like North Carolina, Alabama, Yorktown and others have major issues from something stupid like that it's good to know that they'll be fine for a long time.
 
Yes, she certainly does need a dry dock and we all know that once the cofferdam is built dry docking will likely never happen. So sad.
Rusty, thank you not only for your expertise, but your passion. A few ships, and many people, will benefit from it for hopefully decades to come.
 
Well, I can acertain from the recent posts that the plans to drydock and relocate SHOWBOAT are no longer in the mix. When I lived in Wilmington (1976-87) I went to see her quite often and realized then that the scuttlebutt going around about eventual hull work would be more a necessity than a desire. Of course, when you're dealing with politicians who don't know the first thing about engineering and what's NEEDED to keep the ship afloat, then more than likely the wrong decisions will be made regarding the ship's well-being.

I've wondered whether or not the NORTH CAROLINA is set up similar to the NEW JERSEY - their docent & volunteer group is practically a "crew" on board the ship every day and thus the ship is not dependent upon state workers to maintain it.

Hank
 
I wonder though with her hull in the shape that it's in i don't ghink she could make it TO the drydock. So maybe down the road she can get a proper drydock (thats if her under belly will hold up by then :eek:.
 
85 - Just visited your photos - very nice. A LOT has been opened publically since my last visit 25 years ago!

Hank
 
85 gt kid said:
I wonder though with her hull in the shape that it's in i don't ghink she could make it TO the drydock. So maybe down the road she can get a proper drydock (thats if her under belly will hold up by then :eek:.
Click to expand...

Rusting away steel shell plating or even slowly grinding it away with abrasive mud will only flood the innerbottom tanks. If the Longitudinals, frames, floors and keels are left relatively intact, the ship can still be towed to a dry dock.

At a lower waterline of course.

PS: Please, do NOT ask me to come up with a plan for the docking blocks for the ship to sit on. That can be somebody else's nightmare.
 
Thank you as always Rusty. I knew she could take on water being a double bottom hull (or is it triple bottom like an Iowa?) But wasn't sure on the frame work. I know poor Texas and Olympia have this problem though, poor girls.
 
Last fall I attended the NRG (Nautical Research Guild) Nat'l Conference in Charleston, SC and one of the keynote speakers topic was of the structural integrity problems with TEXAS and how they are trying to rectify at least a portion of the engineering space within the ship. While the details are very hazy with me at this point, the gist of the talk was that without MAJOR funding to dry dock, rebuild, eventually put the ship in a permanent dry bed dock, TEXAS is just a disaster waiting to happen. My guess is that both she and OLYMPIA are just waiting for a major shock to their hull to wake up to a ship sunk at the pier (it happened in the '90s with the destroyer LAFFEY). This speaker's knowledge of the ship's condition was extraordinary and he left no doubt as to her immediate and long term needs. This project only covered one area of the engineering plant - not the ship overall.

Hank
 
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