Bringing Old Cruise Ship to Life

[ddw36]

I enjoy watching & reading about people restoring old, valued vessels, and thought you might like the article too.


https://news.yahoo.com/former-tech-developer-bought-rusty-141107778.html

 

[AlaskaProf]

Renovations are currently 40% completed. Willson told Insider he's already burned through an estimated $1 million fixing the ship.

Looking at the pix, hard to believe it's only been $1 million!

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
As usual. No ER pictures....sigh.

 

[Lepke]

Like many oversized dreams, this one probably won't make it either. Ship's in the Sacramento/San Joaquin delta in Little Potato Slough and he's got some helpers. It's silted in place, hasn't been hauled in decades, and no idea when the engines were last run or if they will run. Like a lot of doomed marine projects, he's concentrating on projects that don't maintain the hull and propulsion. If the incoming power isn't properly done, stray voltage could be eating the underwater parts. And it's wired for European power.
Just to move it requires dredging and several large tugs. Drydocking and just the basics will be a million plus.

 

[lwarden]

Whomever got $600K from that guy must be feeling pretty happy with himself. You would have to pay me $1.2M to take it off your hands. I have nightmares of having to take care of something like that, even with a crew of a hundred or so it would take years to get into shape and many millions of $.

 

[Comodave]

It certainly has prettier lines than current cruise ships, but no way would I ever get involved in a disaster like this. Agree he is going about it in the wrong way refurbishing cabins before the hull and machinery.

 

[Nick14]

At the beginning of the story it says he'd like to restore the ship to a bed and breakfast, and a coastal cruiser. The former might be more doable than the latter.

If he never plans to leave the tie up and use it exclusively as a permanently moored bed and breakfast, then his focus on first refurbishing cabins and living spaces makes sense. He might be hoping to start getting paying guests as soon as possible.

IF (and that's a big IF) he makes it that far, he will likely discover that the costs of completing the restoration to make the ship seaworthy are FAR more than he guesstimated. It might remain a permanently docked bed and breakfast, such as was done with the Queen Mary in Long Beach CA.

Even that's a tough business model. The Queen Mary has had more than its share of financial and other problems. You still need to keep it afloat, even if only at a dock.

An even bigger and sadder story is the S.S. United States, which has been docked in Philadelphia for many years. It was the fastest ocean liner ever built, arguably the best. It's been rusting away for years, with various owners and conservancies struggling to raise money to at least stabilize if not restore it. Different plans for it to be turned into a hotel, casino, etc. never seemed to get off the ground.

SS United States Conservancy

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/ss-united-states/index.html

The SS United States: Philadelphia's Abandoned Ocean Liner

 

[KnotYet]

I enjoy watching & reading about people restoring old, valued vessels, and thought you might like the article too.

https://news.yahoo.com/former-tech-developer-bought-rusty-141107778.html

I wonder if that is the same 50's German cruise ship that was a fixture in L.A.
harbor 20+ years ago? I met the then owner at West Marine in San Pedro and
visited him aboard her from time to time. It was an interesting vessel that he
was also trying to turn into a business.
As I recall it had 5 large Mercedes diesel generators that fed 2 enormous electric
drive motors. Very high tech for its day. It was pretty dilapidated, though,
needing pumps to keep it afloat. As I recall it was evicted from Southland Marine.

 

[AlaskaProf]

As I recall it had 5 large Mercedes diesel generators that fed 2 enormous electric
drive motors. Very high tech for its day.

Vielleicht hightech im jahr 1937.

 

[twistedtree]

I wonder if that is the same 50's German cruise ship that was a fixture in L.A.
harbor 20+ years ago? I met the then owner at West Marine in San Pedro and
visited him aboard her from time to time. It was an interesting vessel that he
was also trying to turn into a business.
As I recall it had 5 large Mercedes diesel generators that fed 2 enormous electric
drive motors. Very high tech for its day. It was pretty dilapidated, though,
needing pumps to keep it afloat. As I recall it was evicted from Southland Marine.

That propulsion system sounds spot on. One of the earlier videos was a peek at the space.

In addition to the work he’s performed over the past 10 years or so, he seems to be throwing spaghetti at the wall trying to find was to fund the endeavor. He shorted it out as a movie set once or twice, and the first videos seem like a pilot for a reality TV show fishing for support. Now he’s trying the YouTube route, and more recently product adds.

I agree that the most that could ever be hoped for is a permanently moored attraction of some kind, and even then I believe it needs to pass CG inspection commensurate with that use.

 

[Portage_Bay]

I agree that the most that could ever be hoped for is a permanently moored attraction of some kind, and even then I believe it needs to pass CG inspection commensurate with that use.

That is an interesting possible limitation. There is an old ferry on Lake Washington Ship Canal in Seattle that has functioned as a dock side venue for decades. Skansonia. It's in such bad shape there are plastic flotation cells like those used under floating docks alongside under the car deck overhang to keep her afloat. I was told by someone who had done work on her heating boilers many years ago that the owners had managed to get her classified as a building to avoid CG inspections. I have no first hand knowledge.

 

[ddw36]

As the OP, I'm enjoying this conversation. I'm no longer boating, haven't for years, but I still like to learn about boats, etc., and this discussion has covered aspects I wasn't aware of.

 

[garbler]

If indeed this vessel is diesel electric then the costs of restoration/repairs can be astronomical. I surveyed an old USN tug that was dsl-elec years ago ( ‘Electric Marvel’ ) and there were problems with the generator and one drive motor plus corroded control panels all of which were associated with age and non-use. The USN built a class of these tugs in the fifties and when operational they were reportedly the best handling and most powerful of all ship assist yard tugs. Diesel electric is a phenomenal propulsion system but only the government could afford building them. They are also very very heavy.

Rick

 

[KnotYet]

If indeed this vessel is diesel electric then the costs of restoration/repairs can be astronomical. I surveyed an old USN tug that was dsl-elec years ago ( ‘Electric Marvel’ ) and there were problems with the generator and one drive motor plus corroded control panels all of which were associated with age and non-use. The USN built a class of these tugs in the fifties and when operational they were reportedly the best handling and most powerful of all ship assist yard tugs. Diesel electric is a phenomenal propulsion system but only the government could afford building them. They are also very very heavy.

Rick

The ship I referenced had great redundancy, having 5 discrete powerplants plus
another generator for the ship's electrical service requirements.
No doubt the main generators could be brought on line as needed for propulsion.
Each of the big generators was probably 1500 HP or more. They may not have
weighed much more than a pair of 4000-5000 HP direct drive engines but then
the electric motors were at least 6' in diameter! Definitely not a lightweight.

 

[LN-RTP]

No ER pictures....sigh.

ER videos on u-Tube, saw one today but the engine room was dark, no power, only an iPhone was used for illumination.

 

[phillippeterson]

It certainly has prettier lines than current cruise ships, but no way would I ever get involved in a disaster like this. Agree he is going about it in the wrong way refurbishing cabins before the hull and machinery.

I originally was inclined to place a deposit for the upcoming auction on Sacagawea. But further investigation and decided not to since it, too, is probably a "disaster" waiting for a sucker with lots of money.

Could be wrong though. Been wrong before.

 

[twistedtree]

Well, if the guy is enjoying the project, then power to him. Otherwise I suspect the boat's best use is as a source of recycled steel. I hate seeing stuff like this disappear, but whether a boat, a house, a car, or whatever, more times than not their fate is already sealed, and it's just a question of how much indignity they will suffer during the downward spiral.

 

[Deano]

Well, if the guy is enjoying the project, then power to him. Otherwise I suspect the boat's best use is as a source of recycled steel. I hate seeing stuff like this disappear, but whether a boat, a house, a car, or whatever, more times than not their fate is already sealed, and it's just a question of how much indignity they will suffer during the downward spiral.

Sad but true.

 

[ben2go]

He can't make repairs fast enough. He's having problems keeping up maintenance and in one video he admits she's sinking and they run fire pumps to remove water out of the lower hull.

 

[Art]

Well, if the guy is enjoying the project, then power to him. Otherwise I suspect the boat's best use is as a source of recycled steel. I hate seeing stuff like this disappear, but whether a boat, a house, a car, or whatever, more times than not their fate is already sealed, and it's just a question of how much indignity they will suffer during the downward spiral.

Interestingly...

Marina where we dock is just a mile or two from where this ship "rests" [she looks to be deeply settled into and surrounded by SF Delta's muddy bottom]. Have driven by her [and cruised in a runabout past her] several times over the years. She's in vicinity of "Herman and Hellen's" [H and H] yacht harbor. A previously [in the 80' / 90's] very well attended yacht harbor. Been closed for many years; very deteriorated now. Brief, failed attempt to rejuvenate H and H around 2011- or so.

Also interestingly... I believe this may be the old ship for which I had several email back and forth [in 2010??] with its owner regarding purchase for scrap value. Don't know if same owner as today. And, my "scrap value" email discussions may have been for a different ship... however, I don't think so!

This area of SF Delta has for many years been used as a graveyard of old small-ship sized boats waiting for burial [scrap-out].

Chances of correctly resurrecting these old babies is "nil to none"! Everything about them is "past the gate" in reference to their bones having become too brittle and their options way too outdated to ever interact well with the modern technology of all marine levels.

Everything has its day as well as its end - Us Too!!

 

[Hawkshaw1]

Looking at the pix, hard to believe it's only been $1 million!

He just lied like we all do!

Hawk