Saving the SS United States

[Cherrybomber13]

Sax Man,
Ill guess she was finally properly aged?
16in Wheels of Cheddar being lobbed on shore? G et me my grill and some burgers!

[old iron]

Dan Jones wrote"

I think the principal role envisioned for them was offshore naval bombardment. It was said once when she was still at sea that, if required, New Jersey could reach as far inland as Damascus. That's probably abit of a stretch, but 25 miles is a fact, and still pretty impressive by any standard.

It strikes me that in these modern days a thousands cruise missiles would be more effective and far cheaper than a reactivated battleship.

[Mark Sampson]

Well, the Iowa at least was re-fitted for cruise missiles, and launched quite a few of them during the 1991 Persian Gulf war. That was over 20 years ago now, and since then the Navy must have decided that further upgrades to those very old ships was uneconomical. I'd say those ships have earned their retirement.

[Xray]

I agree with the consensus that maintaining such a large vessel for sentimental reasons is not a viable proposition.
They have to at least partially earn their keep, and visitor receipts will never even scratch the surface of maintenance costs.
Setting it up as a floating hotel sounds a little better, but then the outlay of $$ would probably be doubled or tripled to renovate it to occupancy status, to say nothing of keeping up with safety codes.

Using it as a reef probably the best option, at least a little more dignified than scrapping, or slowly but surely rusting away chained to the dock.

[old iron]

Xray said

Using it as a reef probably the best option, at least a little more dignified than scrapping, or slowly but surely rusting away chained to the dock.

If disposal is the fate, it would be better to have the metals of the ship recycled into new ships than to simply sink it and then have to mine for new raw materials. Just saying.

[Xray]

Xray said

Using it as a reef probably the best option, at least a little more dignified than scrapping, or slowly but surely rusting away chained to the dock.

If disposal is the fate, it would be better to have the metals of the ship recycled into new ships than to simply sink it and then have to mine for new raw materials. Just saying.

Fair point ,,, But the reef concept seems valid as well.
I heard the USS Oriskany, which was reefed some years back, has been a great success in attracting marine life to the vicinity, and thus boosting the whole eco system. It also attracts lots of recreational divers. Scrap metal is fairly cheap and plentiful these days, whereas marine life is always teetering on a delicate balance.
So its not only a matter of dignity and/or pure value, but also of putting the hulk to its best potential use.

[SaxMan]

Sax Man,
Ill guess she was finally properly aged?
16in Wheels of Cheddar being lobbed on shore? G et me my grill and some burgers!

Probably more realistically, the Navy realized the ship likely wasn't going to be reactivated unless things really started hitting the fan. From what my brother-in-law, who is a retired Navy LCDR, told me, the big problem were the propulsion systems in the battleships. When they were first reactivated, the Navy had to recall WWII and Korean War vets to show them how to operate them. This was the main reason the proposal to re-upgrade the Essex class carriers like the Iowas was shelved.

I was down at Nauticus one day walking around dock area near sunset. A lone mallard duck was paddling along the port side. If it could talk, I'm sure it would be saying "Okay, let's see you hunters take on me and my big brother here!". 12-gauge versus 16-inch isn't really a fair fight.

[SaxMan]

I think the principal role envisioned for them was offshore naval bombardment. It was said once when she was still at sea that, if required, New Jersey could reach as far inland as Damascus. That's probably abit of a stretch, but 25 miles is a fact, and still pretty impressive by any standard.

Yikes! Check out my location. Sure hope no one tries to prove that.

<------ <------ <------

[p51]

The SS United States is, in my mind, far more danger than a warship for pur preservation in that it doesn't have the 'wow factor' of a warship for people visiting it as a museum. I don't know of any large ocean liners that are preserved only as museums.
With this goliath of the seas, either getting her rebuilt to a cruise ship or as a hotel are the only two options to assure her future. I certainly hope either fate for her for would love to see her underway carrying passengers from a dock for a cruise (I was born right after she last ran under her own power). My wife and I have done two cruises (the inside passage in Alaska and all the Hawaiian islands) and I'd gladly go almost anywhere this ship is sailing if they ever get her refitted as a cruise ship...

[Dan Jones]

I think the principal role envisioned for them was offshore naval bombardment. It was said once when she was still at sea that, if required, New Jersey could reach as far inland as Damascus. That's probably abit of a stretch, but 25 miles is a fact, and still pretty impressive by any standard.

Yikes! Check out my location. Sure hope no one tries to prove that.

<------ <------ <------

Damascus is a big place, Sax - I wouldn't take those boasts personally if I were you. But then again...

[Pat Carry]

Speaking of cruise ships, there is a fellow from Australia who wants to build a replica of the Titanic and have it sailing the seven seas by 2016. www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17890754. I say pretty kool but stay away from icebergs.

[gary1954]

Speaking of cruise ships, there is a fellow from Australia who wants to build a replica of the Titanic and have it sailing the seven seas by 2016. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17890754. I say pretty kool but stay away from icebergs.

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer , but I think that such a time frame of only 3 years would lead to shortcuts to reach a deadline ....I won't be ridin on it

[p51]

That's the third Titanic replica plan I've heard of. Doesn't anyone else recall the guy who swore he'd start building one, right after that movie came out? Whoever that was, I remember seeing him on the news, saying he already had an exact re-creating the 1912 voyage with every stop, to the exact same timeframe. They of course would keep going instead of sinking, but I assume would stop for a bit over the site of the sinking exactly 100 years after the fact. never came to pass, of course...

[SaxMan]

That's the third Titanic replica plan I've heard of. Doesn't anyone else recall the guy who swore he'd start building one, right after that movie came out? Whoever that was, I remember seeing him on the news, saying he already had an exact re-creating the 1912 voyage with every stop, to the exact same timeframe. They of course would keep going instead of sinking, but I assume would stop for a bit over the site of the sinking exactly 100 years after the fact. never came to pass, of course...

Apparently there is a B-movie (or even "C" or "D" movie) called Titanic II, which is based on this premise, but apparently, history does repeat itself in the movie.

Let's just say Titanic II makes the "1000 Plane Raid" look like Gone With the Wind.

[hbtcoveralls]

The SS United States is, in my mind, far more danger than a warship for pur preservation in that it doesn't have the 'wow factor' of a warship for people visiting it as a museum. I don't know of any large ocean liners that are preserved only as museums.
With this goliath of the seas, either getting her rebuilt to a cruise ship or as a hotel are the only two options to assure her future. I certainly hope either fate for her for would love to see her underway carrying passengers from a dock for a cruise (I was born right after she last ran under her own power). My wife and I have done two cruises (the inside passage in Alaska and all the Hawaiian islands) and I'd gladly go almost anywhere this ship is sailing if they ever get her refitted as a cruise ship...

The biggest problem to re-activating the United States is that the 1984 auction sold off everything not nailed down and some things that were.
Tom Bowers