Coolboats to admire

[accnick]

Yeah, no Coke machines on Old Ironsides.

I toured the HMS Belfast on the Thames in London about 15 years ago. I thought it was well done.

I have to admit to being a huge fan of museum ships, both large and small, civilian and military. HMS Victory was a highlight a few years ago. Constitution has always been a favorite, in part because I share the same surname as the first captain, although we are not related.

For many years I live only an hour or so away from Constitution, so visited her a number of times.

Oddly, I never went aboard USS Massachusetts (BB-59) even though she was a half-hour drive from my house.

I got a real education on the USS Texas (BB-35) when I was a kid, because my father had served aboard her near-sister USS Utah (BB-31) as a Marine in the early 1930s.

Visiting the Wasa in Stockholm a few years ago was also a great experience, not to mention the Viking longship in Oslo.

I'm a sucker for almost anything that floats, or ever floated.

There are exceptions, however...

 

[Bull City]

@accnick I was able to visit the Massachusetts, in Fall River, I think, and of course the North Carolina in Wilmington.

My old ship, USS Barry (DD-933) was an exhibit ship at the Washington NSY in D.C. Years ago, on a family trip, I took our four kids on the tour. Mrs. Bull had been on board a few times for dinner when I had duty. We made some stops that were not on the tour. It was a lot of fun.

Sadly, she was scrapped a few years ago. A bridge was going to be built that would have trapped her at the yard, or required removal of her masts. The decision was made to move her to the scrap yard ahead of the construction.

We got to go to the best places!

 

[kinardly]

Yes, 5"/54 Rapid Fire mounts. Even though I was the gunnery division officer, I don't recall the overall structure (early 1970's), however, the hoist and loading system went down two or three levels to the magazines.

My GQ station on Galveston was Projectileman, mount #53 so I know the hoist setup but the mount itself was “mounted” to the deck, hence the term. I had to learn all that crap on that cruise, the. I became an aviator. Go figure.

 

[woodtick]

Always respected the Mounties on the St Roch, a tiny ship for what it was, and did. These were hard men, guides and dogs all, it's a shockingly small ship.

 

[accnick]

@accnick I was able to visit the Massachusetts, in Fall River, I think, and of course the North Carolina in Wilmington.

My old ship, USS Barry (DD-933) was an exhibit ship at the Washington NSY in D.C. Years ago, on a family trip, I took our four kids on the tour. Mrs. Bull had been on board a few times for dinner when I had duty. We made some stops that were not on the tour. It was a lot of fun.

Sadly, she was scrapped a few years ago. A bridge was going to be built that would have trapped her at the yard, or required removal of her masts. The decision was made to move her to the scrap yard ahead of the construction.

We got to go to the best places!
View attachment 582319

Join the Navy and see the world!

 

[Kris Cringle]

Apologies if this has been posted. Chuck Paine has a FB fan group. He bought a stripped-out 26' Frances hull and is currently redesigning it.

A 'full circle' project taking his first famous design and, re-designing it at the end of his career, for his own use.

 

[accnick]

Apologies if this has been posted. Chuck Paine has a FB fan group. He bought a stripped-out 26' Frances hull and is currently redesigning it.

A 'full circle' project taking his first famous design and, re-designing it at the end of his career, for his own use.



View attachment 582376

Because he can...

The only downside I see is that this new keel shoe is now the point of deepest draft, and had better be either completely sacrificial, or really strongly reinforced.

 

[Slick470]

I'm also a big fan of museum ships (and aviation/military museums) and will torture my family with a tour any chance I get. It's gotten to the point where they will often drop me off and go do something else while I wander around a ship or museum. Hopefully when the kids are a bit older they will wander with me.

One of the more interesting youtube channels that I started visiting frequently over and since the lockdown is for the battleship USS New Jersey. One of the curators crawls through various parts of the ship that are off the tour routes talks about the ship's history, how they maintain the ship as a museum, and why they have chosen to display the ship the way the have. They also visit a lot of the other museum ships. I mentioned above that they are also replacing the teak decks. They have several videos on the process and why battleships have teak decks, how the armor systems work with the various types of steel and void spaces. For the deck replacement they are trying to use less teak by going with a thinner layer of teak by building up the thickness with a plywood layer. They are also selling off the removed teak to try and raise funds.

https://www.youtube.com/@BattleshipNewJersey/videos

 

[Bugsy]

I feel old I was onboard during this 'replenishment at sea' of USS Wisconsin.

I served for two-and-a-half years in the ship on the left. It was decommissioned some years ago. Wisconsin is also a museum.

 

[Presuming Ed]

OK, so definitely from the rich-man's-plaything end of the spectrum, but I rather like this electric foiler from Spirit yachts, purveyors of spirit of tradition boats to MI6.

 

[accnick]

I feel old I was onboard during this 'replenishment at sea' of USS Wisconsin.

I served for two-and-a-half years in the ship on the left. It was decommissioned some years ago. Wisconsin is also a museum.

View attachment 582425

The Navy's major museum artifacts seem to be on an entirely different scale compared to those of the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps...

You guys get all the really big toys.

 

[Santanasailor]

The Navy's major museum artifacts seem to be on an entirely different scale compared to those of the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps...

You guys get all the really big toys.

Not anymore. While driving across the bay bridge heading into Mobile a few years back, we could see the USS Alabama and a bit further in the distance was a cruise ship. The Alabama was almost toylike compared to the cruiser.

Concerned about global warming causing the oceans to rise? Just putting one of those things in the water, would raise the ocean level enough to sink at least two Pacific islands.

 

[eliboat]

I wonder how the locusts (honey and black) would perform as boat deck material? They are slightly denser & heavier than teak, but also much harder & really, really rot resistant. Also a freaking weed tree with little commercial demand. My father had a dozen locust trees cut down on some property and literally could not give the wood away, not even as firewood. I know a few people have started building house decks and boardwalks from it. Might entail splinters or too much wood movement, tho. Like, I wouldn't want American (bald) cypress decks. Enormous lifting splinters that will put you in the hospital.

Black locust would work well. I love that stuff as a replacement for tropical hardwood or even white oak in some cases. Now the black locust trees in my yard are another matter! Damn near impossible to get rid of. As soon as you disturb any above ground portion, it sends runners out that can sprout yards away from the main trunk. I’ve found roundup does work, but you have to be very diligent. Also, if someone mows your lawn, and they’re not looking for it, they can easily mow down a small runner or two that you may have missed in a roundup application…. And now you’ve got ten more locust trees then next week

 

[Kris Cringle]

OK, so definitely from the rich-man's-plaything end of the spectrum, but I rather like this electric foiler from Spirit yachts, purveyors of spirit of tradition boats to MI6.
View attachment 582430

I'm a big fan of Spirit Yachts. Their boats aren't quite my style (or cost), but their business model is quite interesting. Innovative in both style and technique they seem very sure of themselves. They are not chasing the fat Clorox bottle market.

Speaking of 'teak decking', Spirits use of the Welsh wood product called Lignia for their decks fascinates me. A sustainable softwood (Fir like they say) altered with a water resin, heat and pressure, it sounds too good to be true.

Spirit Yachts replaces teak with Lignia on standard new builds - Classic Boat Magazine

Spirit Yachts is axing teak from its standard specification, and choosing to deck its new vessels with treated Lignia – a heat and pressure treated resin-impregnated softwood that’s guaranteed rot-proof for 50 years. The first Spirit to feature Lignia will be the new Spirit 50CR (cruiser-racer)...

www.classicboat.co.uk

I'm waiting to hear how it is performing and holding up.

 

[eliboat]

I'm a big fan of Spirit Yachts. Their boats aren't quite my style (or cost), but their business model is quite interesting. Innovative in both style and technique they seem very sure of themselves. They are not chasing the fat Clorox bottle market.

Speaking of 'teak decking', Spirits use of the Welsh wood product called Lignia for their decks fascinates me. A sustainable softwood (Fir like they say) altered with a water resin, heat and pressure, it sounds too good to be true.

Spirit Yachts replaces teak with Lignia on standard new builds - Classic Boat Magazine

Spirit Yachts is axing teak from its standard specification, and choosing to deck its new vessels with treated Lignia – a heat and pressure treated resin-impregnated softwood that’s guaranteed rot-proof for 50 years. The first Spirit to feature Lignia will be the new Spirit 50CR (cruiser-racer)...

www.classicboat.co.uk

I'm waiting to hear how it is performing and holding up.

They all look off to me. I’ve never liked their deckhouse treatments, nor have I liked the deck layouts of every one I’ve been on. Also, years ago at the Southampton boat show I got on one of the early spirit 46 yachts and Sean Macmillan was there repping the boat. Granted this was years ago, and I know they’ve gotten quite a bit better since, but this thing had warped cabinet doors and all kinds of amateurish details. Amidst this, he started to poo poo Brooklin Boatyard and Rockport marine, which had just done the w76s and the w46s, and which I had sailed on and was pretty familiar with. I kind of chuckled and just told him that he had a way to go before he was on that level and left.

 

[Priscilla]

 

[Kris Cringle]

They all look off to me. I’ve never liked their deckhouse treatments, nor have I liked the deck layouts of every one I’ve been on. Also, years ago at the Southampton boat show I got on one of the early spirit 46 yachts and Sean Macmillan was there repping the boat. Granted this was years ago, and I know they’ve gotten quite a bit better since, but this thing had warped cabinet doors and all kinds of amateurish details. Amidst this, he started to poo poo Brooklin Boatyard and Rockport marine, which had just done the w76s and the w46s, and which I had sailed on and was pretty familiar with. I kind of chuckled and just told him that he had a way to go before he was on that level and left.

I admit I've never stepped foot on one. I just follow their offerings online. They like to present their boats sailing, I like that.

I think their latest 'net zero' or whatever is quite a stretch but many of the innovations look like the future.

 

[accnick]

I'm a big fan of Spirit Yachts. Their boats aren't quite my style (or cost), but their business model is quite interesting. Innovative in both style and technique they seem very sure of themselves. They are not chasing the fat Clorox bottle market.

Speaking of 'teak decking', Spirits use of the Welsh wood product called Lignia for their decks fascinates me. A sustainable softwood (Fir like they say) altered with a water resin, heat and pressure, it sounds too good to be true.

Spirit Yachts replaces teak with Lignia on standard new builds - Classic Boat Magazine

Spirit Yachts is axing teak from its standard specification, and choosing to deck its new vessels with treated Lignia – a heat and pressure treated resin-impregnated softwood that’s guaranteed rot-proof for 50 years. The first Spirit to feature Lignia will be the new Spirit 50CR (cruiser-racer)...

www.classicboat.co.uk

I'm waiting to hear how it is performing and holding up.

What is it going to look like as the deck surface wears? I think the jury is out on this one. I'd like to see a section artificially aged by, say, 25 years.

 

[Diarmuid]

Black locust would work well. I love that stuff as a replacement for tropical hardwood or even white oak in some cases. Now the black locust trees in my yard are another matter! Damn near impossible to get rid of. As soon as you disturb any above ground portion, it sends runners out that can sprout yards away from the main trunk. I’ve found roundup does work, but you have to be very diligent. Also, if someone mows your lawn, and they’re not looking for it, they can easily mow down a small runner or two that you may have missed in a roundup application…. And now you’ve got ten more locust trees then next week

That's what I meant about locust being a weed tree. It grows everywhere, whether you want it to or not. You can cut it down to the stump, and it will regenerate from that stump and send up ten more locust trees from underground runners. It grows relatively fast, even in very poor soils (it's a pea plant, so it fixes its own nitrogen). They are native to the US & can survive in every state in the lower 48. The wood is practically indestructible. Only shagbark hickory is harder among commercial species. I also find it rather pretty, tho purists might find its color variation too much for their boat decks. Honey locust is a bit quieter (and softer) than black locust. Black locust:

Honey locust:

 

[accnick]

That's what I meant about locust being a weed tree. It grows everywhere, whether you want it to or not. You can cut it down to the stump, and it will regenerate from that stump and send up ten more locust trees from underground runners. It grows relatively fast, even in very poor soils (it's a pea plant, so it fixes its own nitrogen). They are native to the US & can survive in every state in the lower 48. The wood is practically indestructible. Only shagbark hickory is harder among commercial species. I also find it rather pretty, tho purists might find its color variation too much for their boat decks. Honey locust is a bit quieter (and softer) than black locust. Black locust:

Honey locust:

It looks a bit like cypress. What does it look like after it has weathered for a year or two? I went on the website of the primary provider, and it looked like an awful lot of checking in the material.