If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership The benefits pay for the membership many times over.
That poor mother. What a tragic story that is.
The Cassin YYoung is funded by the National Park Service. Don’t know about The Sullivans. If anybody hasn’t been to the Cassin Young I highly suggest it. That tiny little shop took 2 direct Kamikaze hits amidships and still kept going. Awesome history right in our backyardAll of these vessels are in trouble. The Cassin Young, in our own harbor, isn't doing much better.
These ships were always expensive to maintain when in service, and that expense rises over time even as the revenues decrease. The nonprofits that fund these things just don't have the resources.
And? Bottom line? These ships were not meant to be afloat for 70 years. That's just the sad truth.
"According to the consultant, making the Cassin Young seaworthy enough to remain afloat for another half century would cost as much as $18.7 million. That’s nearly double the entire annual operating budget of the National Park Service in Boston."The Cassin YYoung is funded by the National Par Service. Don’t know about The Sullivans. If anybody hasn’t been to the Cassin Young I highly suggest it. That tiny little shop took 2 direct Kamikaze hits amidships and still kept going. Awesome history right in our backyard
Well that sux. The Japs couldn’t take that ship out but our budget cuts can."According to the consultant, making the Cassin Young seaworthy enough to remain afloat for another half century would cost as much as $18.7 million. That’s nearly double the entire annual operating budget of the National Park Service in Boston."
-Phil Primack, 28 August 2011
That was written over a decade ago, the last time the ship was in drydock. That 18.7 million is the equivalent of almost 24 million today. For just one measly destroyer. And since then, the NPS system has added a slew of national parks (which need to be funded at a higher level than previously, since they weren't "parks" then) and revenues have been going down.
These ships need CONSTANT maintenance, and costs are rising. I love these ships and I've always enjoyed visiting them (you're right that it's WELL worth a visit!), but there will come a point where it just flat-out costs too much. These things weren't meant to be in the water this long.
Well that sux. The Japs couldn’t take that ship out but our budget cuts can.
Yeah. It's too bad, but there's a bunch of surplus ships around the coastal USA that just don't have any kind of support. Cassin Young is better off than most, in fact: it's got a naval shipyard nearby and some taxpayer funding. Most of the rest of these, including The Sullivans, just can't possibly keep up with any kind of maintenance.
So... if Cassin Young is that bad? Imagine how much worse a lot of those other ships are. See them while you can. The "solution" seems to be to sink them into concrete. Putting them on blocks makes them sag, and keeping them in the water makes them rust. But that's a lot of concrete and a lot of real estate, and someone's got to pay for it.
It’s interesting in that the USS Midway in San Diego is a floating museum as well. Wonder what kind of preemptive course they follow so it doesn’t end up sinking one day.
not sure why these ships need to "float" in retirement?All of these vessels are in trouble. The Cassin Young, in our own harbor, isn't doing much better.
These ships were always expensive to maintain when in service, and that expense rises over time even as the revenues decrease. The nonprofits that fund these things just don't have the resources.
And? Bottom line? These ships were not meant to be afloat for 70 years. That's just the sad truth.
That's one solution, but over time it causes another problem: the hulls are designed to have uniform pressure applied to every point, not just to a few points where the blocks support the keel. So it causes bulges in the hull as the weight of the superstructure pushes down on it while the water isn't supporting it.not sure why these ships need to "float" in retirement?
There used to be a ship in boston harbor, next to anthonys rest,
View attachment 604808
it sat on concrete blocks.
Yet New York is poised to pay over a billion for a new football stadium in Buffalo.
these military history museums should think twice before grabbing onto a huge one!
get a few PT boats and keep them inside and dry!
The old Girl is lookin pretty sad today unfortunately.I remember several years ago they had to bring the Massachusetts to a dry dock for repairs to her hull.
tax revenue
The old Girl is lookin pretty sad today unfortunately.