That would be nice, I couldn't make it out to the east coast to see it myself, every video of the dry dock series has been great, I hope they do a virtual dry dock trio video.
BUMP THIS. Yeah. When she is refloated - let's make sure we get MAXIMUM footage - donate old go-pros if you have them - mail them to NJ. Let's see this thing in 50 angles of HD above and below as she comes off the blocks.
Location was the primary reason Texas was able to waste away to such a critical state as she was in 2021 before her dry docking. Where she was, she was completely surrounded by industrial oil refineries for miles in almost every direction, and she was really a stand-alone attraction. She wasn't able to attract the number of visitors needed to generate the amount of income for a drydocking, despite numerous attempts from Texas Parks and Wildlife to intern her in a dry berth. Now that she will be at Pier 21 in Galveston, mere minutes away from Moody Gardens and Pleasure Pier, as well as within spitting distance from several cruise terminals she will have all the exposure she could ever need, and she will still be right next to a shipyard whenever her next yard period comes up.
@@Klemeq San Jacinto, its where Houston finally defeated Santa Ana to give Texas independence. Where the battleship originally was, she was at the site of that battle.
Suddenly I understand the scale modeler's dislike of 'waterline' models. Even though she belongs in the water, it's magnificent seeing the entire ship.
A Pennsylvanian here...While I love the history of BB-38 USS PENNSYLVANIA, she currently resides at the bottom of Kwajalein Atoll....plus I just absolutely love BB-62!!!!! Whenever I think of a American Battleship, the Big J is the image I see in my brain.
Since I was a kid. I loved machinery, ships and airplanes. New Jersey is My Battleship from that time. Reagan reactivating the four Iowa's was a time when I paid a lot of attention. When President Carter suggested chopping them up I wrote letters and called people. A lot of other people did too. I wish I had the time to see New Jersey in drydock but get a lot of satisfaction that she is being so well taken care of by Ryan and his team. I think of these ships as dormant volcanoes. In the very unlikely event they are reactivated, this kind care and the knowledge base sustained would make that possible.
Yeah, it would've been nice if she'd been preserved instead of used as an A-bomb target. But she was in bad shape and nobody was interested in saving old battleships back then.
Of course I'm stating the obvious - and absolutely no offense to our fine countryfolk in New Jersey - Yes, she is a New Jersey girl but was born in Pennsylvania. I'm proud of that.
I mean plus it’s always hit or miss whether anyone cares about preserving a ship to start with. Being from Washington I think it would’ve been worth preserving USS Washington, she certainly had historical cred for winning the navy’s only one on one battleship gunnery duel. But at the end of the day no one tried to preserve the ship
I can't travel due to health and age. These videos are wonderful for people like me. I would have liked to have taken a drydock tour. All your videos have been great. I found your channel last year and have learned a lot about the Iowas. THANK YOU for all you and your staff do to preserve history.
My museum ship - the S.S. Keewatin - now lives inside a drydock. But, unlike what many may think, we'll never drain the drydock to 'preserve' her for the same reasons mentioned in this video. At least the good news is that if/when we do major hull repairs, we don't have to tow her anywhere. We can simply drain where she lives now, fix it, and refloat her. It's extremely lucky that the drydock she lives in is also a historical landmark itself, making it a match made in heaven!
My family and I toured Keewatin multiple times when she was in Douglas, MI. She's a beautiful old lady, and it is wonderful that you are keeping her alive and afloat!
@@SCiliskeSlyc She's in fresh water; the entire Great Lakes and a vast majority of the St. Lawrence River is freshwater. 🙂 The fact that she's spent her entire career in freshwater (except for her initial transatlantic crossing) may be why she's held up so well.
An Iowa class battleship underway, at speed with a "bone in her teeth" with a 20 foot "roostertail" behind is a magnificent sight. I'm fortunate enough to have seen three of them at sea (not all at the same time) during my time in the Navy. In fact, the only one of the four I've not seen underway or firing her main battery is New Jersey and that opportunity won't come again.
Now THAT gives me an idea! How feasible would it be to turn her, say once or twice a year, and set her back at the museum moorings? It's a big event, people can pay for the privilege to ride her for the trip, etc etc.
I'm not the biggest fan of "stuffed and mounted." I understand if that's the only way to preserve the artifact. I also get all of the why when the navy says that you can't activate the steam plant. But the more alive you can make the artifact the better. Ships and boats are made to float. Airplanes are made to fly. Steam locomotives are meant to boil water and pull things down the track. And Iowa (and New York) class battleships belong in the water.
@jameshigh6481 I have heard that it isn't possible to bring the NJ back into service but my heart tells me that it could be done and that it is worth it
While I liked the opportunity to pull out my boat (30ft sailboat and home) for the opportunity to complete projects and maintainance, it was always a relief to put her back in.
Eh, that is not really how naval architecture works. Steel has a very well understood stress/strain curve, and drydocking is not allowed to push steel into the plastic deformation of that curve.
@@offshorebear Ryan is a great guy but he keeps repeating this same misinformation. I've corrected him several times but doesn't want to hear it. Based on the number of up votes to @jeffsr8300, nobody else want to hear it either. Oh well.
@@offshorebear Fiction attracts more attention than boring facts and gives the host more an air of expertise. Most of the fan club doesn't know the difference between wooden ships and steel ships.
I’m glad here in the UK we now have SS Great Britain in permanent dry dock, but it’s in the dock it was built in, in a large city (Bristol). It’s a much smaller ship, and has those wedges mentioned, and they’ve made a ‘waterline effect’ so it can be done, but as Ryan says, you have to have the factors for it to make sense.
Absolutely right (though worth noting that this dry dock is where BB62 was built - so it therefore could be argued this is where she belongs as much as SS Gt. Britain does where she is!)
Also SS Great Britain has critical corrosion problems, salt has embedded itself in the hull material. If she was put back in the water she would corrode to nothing in a small number of years. To stop her corroding she has dehumidified air blown all around the hull below the water line glass cover. There's no way to do that other than in a dry dock.
I was one of the people who came in from out of country! I’m surprised and pleased that apparently I was far from the only one LOL I’ve now travelled 3 times for BBNJ: sleeping aboard on the first adults-only overnight in summer 2022, watching her towed into dry dock in March 2024, and being underneath her in dry dock in April of 2024 Whether or not Pennsylvania cares much about the battleship, they sure owe her for all the business she’s bringing in LMAO
We have enough video of Ryan that i bet in 3024 you will be able to visit Battleship New Jersey and be greated by an AI hologram "hi, I'm Ryan szymanski (sp), the early 21st century and now virtual curator of Battleship New Jersey". I'm only in Pittsburgh,, but haven't been able to make a drydock tour work. I'm hoping to be able to make it out to tour with my family this summer! Thank you for all of the work yinz do!
Almost 60 years ago already, I visited the North Carolina in Wilmington. It was and probably still is one of the most accessible BBs to visit. At that time though, there was only limited access to areas in the interior. Having most or at least a lot available to tour, easy access and in its natural(?) environment is what drew me to tour her. Put her back in the water! For now though, age, disabilities and health deny me the opportunity to visit the New Jersey as much as I would like to. She shelled areas where I had been in Vietnam.
There's several decks open for tours North Carolina. Engine room, turrets, shell handling and storage areas. There's the combat information center, room with analog computers and fire controls for 16 inch guns. Machine shop,crew quarters, laundry areas, bridge where they steered the ship. Many other rooms too many to mention. The ship is sitting in mud and they have built a cofferdam around the ship in which they have drained water out to work on replacing hull metal plates .They have also built a walkway around the ship so you can view the ship. A few years ago they had a statewide fundraising campaign to raise money to replace the teak deck. I filled out 3 cardboard quarter holders. The old teak deck boards were cut up in small sections and sold. I bought a piece. Mine has a little grey paint and what looks like a place where a bullet ricochettted off the deck. Last time I visited her with my sister and brother-in law we had a chance to talk to volunteers who work on the battleship. I also met the man who was a nightwatchman who wrote Ghosts of The Battleship North Carolina. He signed my copy of his book. I live less than 2 hours from Wilmington.
Ryan, whoever your successor eventually is, will have enormous shoes to fill. Another really interesting video. Having NJ out of the water is like having a shark out of water - it's not where it wants to be and it can only last a short time. NJ is at home in the water, and displaying her that way shows how she looked while waiting for sailors on shore leave, patrolling sea lanes, shelling targets and performing other duties. She looks beautiful sitting there, and it was a privilege to see her that way - but looking forward to her being back afloat once again! 👍 p.s. - it would be good for visitors to be informed about NJ's center forward 16" barrel over at the Navy Yard Parade Grounds at Intrepid & Broad streets. I stopped there on my way back from the tour - it's worth the time! ;)
All classic vessels are awesome to see out of the water, and its great for them to be hauled out or drydocked for routine maintenance & repair, but they belong in the water long term. It's been a pleasure to see USS NJ in drydock, but she belongs at sea, but floating at the dock is the next best thing. At least she's floating.
It was fantastic to see the New Jersey for the first time in drydock. As someone who lives far far away (Northern Alberta) this was more like a once in a lifetime experience for me, and I was not disappointed. I visited on May 18 and our tour guide was awesome! I forget his name but he was a younger guy and was very knowledgeable about the ship. I was on my way back from vacation and it just happened to coincide with the drydock tours so I knew I'd never get another chance. Maybe one day I'll see her again and get a topside tour!
An Iowa class battleship underway, at speed with a "bone in her teeth" with a 20 foot "roostertail" behind is a magnificent sight. I'm fortunate enough to have seen three of them at sea (not all at the same time) during my time in the Navy. In fact, the only one of the four I've not seen underway or firing her main battery is New Jersey and that opportunity won't come again unfortunately. The technology is conceivable but the expense is beyond the means of any conceivable museum organization to build a basin filled with crystal clear water to float her in, allowing an examination and display of the hull from both above and below the waterline like a model in a bathtub or swimming pool.
Honest to God, my biggest worries about keeping NJ on the blocks would be: (1) more of a pain than the pier for tours, (2) I imagine the dockyard would expect to be compensated for the use of their big concrete rectangle that they could otherwise be using to fix big boats in, and (3) you're going to have to refloat her every 5 years to pull her forward or aft far enough to drop her down and fix all the crap that is happening where the blocks were meeting the hull for the last 5 years.
2) isn't as much of an issue as this is the last planned use of this drydock, after which it will be permanently flooded. Parking and visitor access to a working naval shipyard are different stories.
The problem is Devil runs the world. He is lier and murderer. This is the reason why Hitler got the power, but Christ was executed as "blasphemer" and "rioter" by denunciation of clergy. That's why we've got the Gospel about the God's kingdom. Jehovah would put everything in order. The dead will be resurected and we'll meet our beloved ones again! :-)
Your crew knew the perfect shot. What an angle! This highlights the beauty of the Iowa Class, and their gorgeous lines. Works of magnificent, terriblly powerful art.
An excellent series of the drydock period with very good coverage of all of what it takes to keep Battleship New Jersey well-maintained; ready and safe for future visitors. I too enjoy seeing her out of the water showing off her beautiful shape and lines.
Having been aboard her on Independence Day 2 years ago, seeing her out of the water and being able to walk underneath such an amazing ship was a once in a lifetime experience. Thankful I was able to take the drydock tour with my Dad who was on the Iowa in the 80s. Thank you your efforts!
In the water. And then, once every 30 years, you create and event when it has to be dry docked, and repainted. Nice job with this ship Ryan! Thanks for these historic videos!
Made it out for a drydock tour last month for the "once in a lifetime" experience. Been to her in Camden many times (including her setting off for drydock on my birthday in 2024 when I turned 33). I plan on taking my kids there when they can appreciate her. As a South Jersian she's a staple in my heritage. your enthusiasm to keep her afloat for generations is commendable. I truly hope that happens. Its a point of human history that shouldn't be forgotten.
As much as we enjoyed visiting the ship out of the water (and what a beautiful sight she is to behold), she obviously does belong in the water. Thank you Ryan, Libby, and all the staff of BB-62, the drydock tour was a great experience!!
"De Wadden" is an excellent example as to why you can't preserve a ship in a drydock permanently. While she was a much smaller example, all the same factors were at play which led to her being scrapped this year.
DeWadden was scrapped because no one could afford to replace the gutted interior, restore the exterior, and maintain it as a museum ship. Structurally it was sound and being stored in a drydock had zero to do with its demise, it was solely a business decision. All the bits that attract visitors rotted away and there was nothing particularly worth investing huge amounts of money to continue a fantasy that appealed to very few people. De Wadden is NOT an example of what drydocking does to a steel ship, it is an example of the fact that an attraction needs to attract, when it no longer attracts sufficient income it becomes scrap.
@@oldtugs . She was scrapped because it was too expensive to repair the keel, which was fractured in 7 places. Almost every frame was fractured. She was bowed out 5 inches. That sort of damage is something you can't repair, and all of that was due to sitting above water for far too long. Yes a business decision did have a playing factor, however the actual reason why she was scrapped was because she was at risk of collapse inside the drydock.
@@aquastar7315 And the reason it was in such bad shape is because it was used to carry rocks, timber, coal and other bulk cargo that is the most damaging cargo that can be loaded on a ship. Dropping tons of stone or coal into and out of the holds without very careful attention to placement and drop will sink a ship all by itself. It is very destructive to the light iron and steel framing used on turn of century ships. Dry docking did not kill that ship, low budget operators carrying damaging cargo and lack of expensive maintenance did, just as it kills modern ships today.
@@oldtugs The damage you speak of effected her plating, but not her framing itself. She was originally put in drydock because her skin was too thin. It was so bad that she had to be beached once to prevent her from sinking after driftwood punctured her hull. Her condition was monitored during her time with the museum and it wasn't until her later years that she quickly started developing cracks in her framing. As she was at risk of structural collapse, she was scrapped.
Battleships are just cool in & out of the water thank you to all the veterans who served and thank you for the work you do and preserving the lives of these old ships
The best dry dock exhibition i have ever seen is the SS Great Britain in Bristol, Uk. It gives the impression of being in the water and the hull below the waterline is in an atmosphere controlled environment as the hull is so fragile. Its an amazing piece of engineering.
You are doing a great job! The paint looks great! She was one of my Navy ships, and when she was in constant use, it was hard to keep her looking so pretty. However, there is nothing as awe inspiring as watching an Iowa class glide gracefully back into port after a deployment!
Visited the Cutty Sark in London last week. She used to sit on her keel in its covered dry dock but after 60(?) years like that, the keel & hull damage was significant. In 2012(?) She was raised off her keel and ribs were installed to put pressure on the sides of the ship to attempt to replicate the pressure of being in the water. Being a brass clad wooden ship, She wouldn't last long in the Thames but it I would've preferred to see Her afloat.
There is a lot more to Cutty Sark's construction and structural issues than your post implies. It is a "composite" contruction hull that uses relatively thin riveted iron framing planked with wood to form the hull. The weight of the masts and corrosion of the iron structural parts in contact with rotting wood created the problems. If it were not in a drydock it would have sunk years before the renovations were performed. It is not accurate or informative to try and equate the Cutty Sark with steel ship construction.
Thank you for taking such good care of her. I hope that you can make a good video presentation of the dry docking maintenance for an on board presentation so people can see what she looks like out of the water and how much work goes into the preservation.
Are you just making things up by chance?? If the boat is properly supported - with the correct number of blocks plus 35% for redundancy - and the blocks are maintained and properly positioned - there is NO structural reason the ship cannot remain on the blocks indefinitely. With her so underloaded - it's actually slightly better for her long-term structure to be kept high- and dry - on the blocks she's sitting much closer to her intended trim than she sits when moored currently. But - there are a million other reasons why you wouldn't keep a boat like NJ out of the water - especially after you just paid all that money for all the expensive paint to protect her from the water.
I'm not trying to be mean - but you say deck-droop - I think of a wooden deck on the back of your house. NJ doesn't have that problem. She's designed to displace nearly 60,000 long-tons of sea-water and to be able to, safetly, make better than 30 knots at that weight - in open ocean - I promise - neither the keel nor the bow nor any important element of the hull or deck is worried about the forces associated with remaining completely motionless.
@@Joseph55220it’s not the support from the bottom that is the problem, the blocks take care of that, but lack of support from the sides. All the force from mass of the upper part of the ship is excreted downward AND outward thus eventually bowing out the hull. If the ship is in water, that water exerts pressure against all sides of the hull counter acting that force. What you can do, and other ships have done, is embed it in mud, concrete or build some sort of other structure around it. But each of those has other problems.
@@mlehky ahh... that does make complete sense. I'll be curious to know if NJ suffers from those concerns. Naval warship are designed with margins such that they can survive rough seas at 20 knots, with battle damage, fire damage, and flooding, while firing the mains 3 times every 2 minutes - so I'm not sure if a ship as robust as NJ will actually begin to pull herself apart if you were to keep her on the blocks for decades.
I also know enough about how she was designed and built to suggest that very little of her super-structure likely translates into the hull members - I really think the blocks are taking 95% of the load and the hull can take the remaining 5% indefinitely with a considerable safety-margin on top of it.
I am glad to hear Ryan speak about the risks and damage that permanently dry docking the ship can cause. A great example of the effects of not being afloat can be seen by the scope and work that was required to fix the Battleship Texas. The Texas was actually sitting in the mud at her berth in Galveston. I took a tour aboard her in 2000. The effects of not being supported properly by the water was evident by the visible buckling of the bulkheads and decks. Some of the bulkheads had bulged as much as 14 inches from where they should have been. This damage is part of what was desperately needed to repair as it was causing damage and leaking of the outer hull. Due to the issues with her berthing and the fact that she sat for so long it required over a hundred million dollars to repair her to prevent her from sinking. She was leaking 5,000 gallons of seawater per hour and required her pumps to be operating 24 hours a day to keep from sinking at her berth. Her hull so badly corroded and damaged that she was taking on enough water to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool every 5 and a half days. Know a couple of people who worked on the repairs to her hull and they said that if he'd dry docking had been delayed another year she would have never made it to the dock to be repaired.
Amazing to watch your restoration of this magnificent vessel. When i was ten ( now am 53) I put together a model of this very ship. When I was a teenager the New Jersey had its deployment and Operation in Beruit, Lebanon. As we all know it's only steel but for some people its just memories of a past life. And that is beautiful
What Ryan is trying to say that is while she may have been BUILT out of the water, doesn't mean that she needs to remain out of the water. IIRC, the Iowas were designed to displace ~55,000 tons. That displaced weight is shared NOT ONLY by the bottom of the ship, but also the sides of the ship below the waterline. The weight of the entire volume of water displaced by the entire ship. 1-cubic foot of water weighs almost 64 pounds. 55, 000 tons is 116 MILLION pounds. Almost HALF of that needs to be supported by the sides of the ship below waterline. Simple physics!
I am so grateful that we someone like Ryan and his team taking care of this national treasure. It is a symbol of our past greatness and hopeful a reminder to people in the future of what WE can build to help protect our great country. Thank you so much.
Something I want to say: we measure boats in terms of their displacement. So: the VOLUME of water that they push out of their way. This is their weight and, if properly measured, it is hyper accurate. I DESPERATELY WANT TO KNOW: when they re-float NJ - does the dockyard have the capabilities of calculating PRECISELY how much water they pumped into her berth at the moment she starts to ease off all her blocks? Cuz - this could be an AMAZING OPPORTUNITY for us to figure out EXACTLY how much NJ weighs in 2024.
The load-lines don't work well for ships as big as NJ because the boat displaces sooo much water that she pushes the water level in her immediate vicinity up - now, they also float higher because of the relatively-higher-water-pressure bubble they create around them - but really - what you want to do is measure the displacement of the boat relative to the water-level 100 yards away from her and then do all the accounting for water salinity, tides, waves, the boat bobbing around during your measurements, etc. ... but, dry-dock is a GREAT chance to figure out how much water it takes to make New Jersey float. And, once she is floating, you have to do additional computations for account for a number of other variables if you are attempting to calculate a reasonably accurate displacement for her.
In almost a comic twist however, it is actually easier to pin down because she is so out of trim. Because we have a very good idea of her bow to stern weight distribution - it's possible to calculate to a smaller margin of error when she is moored now than if she was moored with bow-favoring ballast aboard.
I can assure you that not only does the drydock not have that capability, but also that all your reasons as to why draft lines don't work is complete bull. A battleship is not a mountain, it has zero measurable effect on the water level around it. A ship moving through the water will push up water ahead of it due to hydrodynamic effects, but newsflash: USS New Jersey hasn't gone above 3 knots in about 30 years.
@@wyattroncin941 Sort of... it's the sort of effect I really would like to test experimentally if I could find the way to test it mythbusters style - cuz I'll admit that I could be proven wrong - my contention is not that the ship raises the level of the water around it in a vessel as great as all the combined oceans of the planet of Earth (although, because you mention it - scientifically speaking, the level of the world's oceans is slightly lower without the NJ moored in the river) - no - the effect I'm talking about is because the ship rocks and rolls and bobs and lists, and caps and dives and the waves can make it to take good measurement unless you are in absolutely still water - for NJ - when she is moored at the pier - I could go out there and figure out how much she weighs on a given day - it would be a chore - but I could go and take the measurements and do all the math... but my margin of error would be far wider than what I believe the dry-dock should have the capability of producing
but back to the nerdy shit i was ranting about - the theory is that the boat is big enough to act as a giant wind-break - or a sail - and it effectively causing the effects of wind and how the wind can interact on the vessel if it is present - if it is calm water and you can get good data - they are good - but as soon as you hit a chop - you just can't always get good measurements
I LOVED❤ LOVED❤ LOVED❤ my birthday tour with you in the drydock! It cost LOTS of pennies, but it was worth every one! Was amazing to see the ENTIRE hull, the rudders, the props, and to walk UNDER the Battleship! I'm anxiously awaiting the commemorative hard hat in the mail once you replenish your supply. ❤
Thank-you Ryan for another great video. We had the pleasure of taking an excellent drydock tour on 4/20 with the added bonus of having the opportunity to meet you! Your comments about "pancaking" are very interesting. Has anyone every attempted to measure this? Laser measurement technology today should be able to measure the "sag" that the ship experiences when it initially comes out of the water and as time passes while it's on the blocks. It might not take lasers to be honest, maybe just a plumb bob and piano wire. Thanks again for everything you and your team do!
The ship shouldn't come off of the blocks (I wouldn't expect) but, the first major earthquake that hits the boat while she is on the blocks is going to trigger gremlins all over the boat that you'll be hunting down for the next 3 decades.
She is a breathtaking good looking ship, with an amazing history. I love the IOWA class battleships. Although a machine for war, she was at her time a marvelous piece of engineering and what the human mind can achieve. Therefore, parts of history like her need to be preserved and shown to the future generations, to pay tribute to all that worked, lived and passed away (1 casualty I believe) serving on her. Moreover, congratulations to you sir and all others that make the effort to preserve and keep her in such an excellent condition. Keep up the excellent job.
I hope before long I can come see the BB62 . I have only gotten to go visit the BB60 CV-16 and a few subs . Thank you for all of the videos that show so much. I very much appreciate all of you that keep these Iowa Class ships in good condition.
I understand HMS Victory is experiencing significant structural “creep” due to being drydocked long-term and will require a significant and costly effort to correct.
Too true - However a proper supporting and re-aligning system has been designed and is being implemented.. It's taking years as old timbers are having to be bent back into their correct shapes and that is a long slow process.
Ryan, variety is the spice of life. It’s nice to see New Jersey out of the water getting fixed up, but she belongs in the water in ready-to-reactivate condition.
Simply put an accurate but however it may be an eventuality that cannot be avoided as the metal has a lifespan and being in the water for a century or more will not be permissible they'll have to come up with a different system to stabilize it but I think New Jersey as well as the rest of the museum ships in existence will eventually have to be dry docked otherwise they will wither away
@@oldtugs I mean it's not nonsense objects are invariably affected by their environment whether due to corrosion corrosion or usage in the case of the USS New Jersey it's almost 900 ft long it's made of various types of steals and it was intended to be in the water so Boeing of the hull is something that can Afflicted but eventuality is at some point it will have to be taken out of the water or we lose it for good
@@TheDogGeneral This whole "must be supported by water" nonsense is pseudo science promoted by the video producer and fan viewers. It has no factual basis beyond wooden hulled vessels. Do skycrapers bulge at the bottom? Are the gun barrels drooping toward the deck? Is the beam increasing because the superstructure sits above the waterline? Are boneyard/museum aircraft and the wings of mothballed airliners sagging under their own weight? They are fabricated of relatively flimsy aluminum so by museum ship expert standards the wingtips should be in the dirt by now. You are correct in saying that the ship will be lost for good but in or out of the water is irrelevant. It will corrode away because there are not enough skilled or unskilled volunteers or money enough to maintain that ship beyond easily viewed cosmetics. If you look at any of the online videos showing areas off the normal tour route you will see the effects of corrosion and neglect dating from its last Navy service, it will only get worse, there isn't will among taxpayers or enough money in any State treasury to reverse the process of decay. I have a term for this latest nonsense, "battleship bullship".
I love Ryan’s attitude about the preservation of the ship. Millenia! I know it’s obvious given his job, but I still appreciate his attitude. It is so correct. I have never seen the New Jersey. I got my Dad to take me to see The Mighty Mo when she was still in service and came to Australia for a visit. Very, very impressive ship and very impressive crew. ❤
Yeah I was thinking that when they're out of water they look unreal. They need to be in the water to look correct but I will say you should see a submarine out of the water. Very sinister looking.
Ryan, I agree that boats in general should be viewed "afloat". That said, I truly appreciate the view of the underwater profile. No longer "classified information", those details are important to me. But for the overall purpose of preserving a significant piece of U.S. history, I wholeheartedly agree this vessel should remain afloat and accessible to the public vs. permanently drydocked. P.S. Was aboard USS Alabama in Mobile, AL recently (2024). Wonderfully preserved IMO
Look at what is happening to HMS Victory which is permanently berthing in a drydock, she is sagging but considering that over a hundred years ago, she was found to be in such poor condition that she had to be permanently drydock to keep her from sinking
Nice explanation of how the forces of water maintain the ship's shape. I never thought about that aspect of being stored on land for an extended period of time.
Ryan, you left out the best option. Seeing her still sailing around on the open seas and taking people on experience cruises of what it was like to spend a week at sea on a battleship. I know I'd much rather be on an Iowa-class rather than some cruise ship.
@@damkayaker The area where _New Jersey_ is docked is a very nice riverside park.👍 Please don’t discourage people from visiting her with that kind of misinformation.👎
@@SavingMaverick55 NO, it’s not accurate. I think most cities in the USA have good and not so good parts; New Jersey isn’t any worse than any other place I’ve been, and unless you’re going out of your way to look for the trouble spots there is nothing to worry about.
Surprised you didn’t mention HMS Victory when describing the “compression” effect of having a ship in drydock. Victory sustained quite a bit of damage over the years from being in drydock, but now they’ve developed a sophisticated suspension-like system to simulate that effect. Absolutely love all of these videos!
I think Ryan gets lots of credit for this temporary bump in sales while in drydock He has provided HUGE entertainment value and got people interested in the ship - this is why there is a huge demand for these temporary drydock tours. I'm not a big fan of the state of New Jersey, but I will plan a trip to see the ship there.
Might be one of the best ones yet! I think this really highlights the realities of this. I am looking forward to coming back when she is back where she belongs - even though this is so special and rare :)
My destroyer ( USS Lawrence DDG-4 ) spent a little over a year in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard from spring of 81 to summer of 82. Getting a chance to walk in the bottom of the dry dock with the ship on blocks was a real eye opener. Getting to climb to the top of the mast while she was on blocks was a thrill. If any of the old crew see this: Lou, Billy Joe, Victor, Rick, or Harvey, Hello!
Remember seeing both the New Jersey and the Missouri side by side in front of my office during the late 1980’s and 1990’s. It was cool to walk under the USS Ranger at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, but a ship belongs in the water.
It’s very interesting to see it out of the water to understand the size the magnitude, especially the propeller how many stories it stands, but clearly there’s nothing like walking the gang plank onto a ship to experience it.
That mention of a drydock in NJ that could possibly accommodate an Iowa-class battleship makes wonder where that would be, even though the Philadelphia Navy Yard is obviously closer. My great grandfather was a boiler inspector at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and in Hoboken, but I’d assume those weren’t capital ships.
I remember seeing her in Bremerton parked next to the Missouri when the Missouri was partially open to tour. I wanted to board the Jersey and explore all day!
A number of years ago when I was living in Seattle I rode my bike to an overlook in West Seattle and saw the New Jersey in Puget sound Elliott Bay. It was awesome and majestic and like some thing I had never seen before. The ship looked actually quite small in the harbor in comparison but your eye went right to it. I will never forget it that image.
I was on a conventional aircraft carrier in PNSY next door to the Wisconsin even in comparison to an aircraft carrier the Battleship even looked impressive next to an aircraft carrier which most ships just aren't as impressive. We couldn't go onboard though, there was extra security because the Iowa had still recently had a gun accident. The New Jersey is a beautiful ship. I wish you guys Success on keeping her in good condition.
Perhaps a virtual dry dock video tour exhibit once the ship is re-floated and back at her pier.
That would be nice, I couldn't make it out to the east coast to see it myself, every video of the dry dock series has been great, I hope they do a virtual dry dock trio video.
Rubeeen, you like the scubaahhh
how about a timelapse of the entire time in drydock, that would be real cool too
In 4k? Maybe!
BUMP THIS. Yeah. When she is refloated - let's make sure we get MAXIMUM footage - donate old go-pros if you have them - mail them to NJ. Let's see this thing in 50 angles of HD above and below as she comes off the blocks.
Location was the primary reason Texas was able to waste away to such a critical state as she was in 2021 before her dry docking. Where she was, she was completely surrounded by industrial oil refineries for miles in almost every direction, and she was really a stand-alone attraction. She wasn't able to attract the number of visitors needed to generate the amount of income for a drydocking, despite numerous attempts from Texas Parks and Wildlife to intern her in a dry berth. Now that she will be at Pier 21 in Galveston, mere minutes away from Moody Gardens and Pleasure Pier, as well as within spitting distance from several cruise terminals she will have all the exposure she could ever need, and she will still be right next to a shipyard whenever her next yard period comes up.
Yes, true. However, I always wanted to see the USS Texas at the most historical Texas battle site at the same time.
@@BostonHarbor713 ... The Alamo?
@@BostonHarbor713 I would too, but unfortunately, there's just no way to move a battlefield.
@@Klemeq San Jacinto, its where Houston finally defeated Santa Ana to give Texas independence. Where the battleship originally was, she was at the site of that battle.
@@comradevlad7459 Hey, at least he remembered!
Let's just keep RYAN in drydock permanently! He seems happy there. 😄😅😄
Get him those waist massagers as seen on TV to keep him from bulging out!
@@someone2Utoo Or the inflatable suit that fighter pilots use to stop the blood draining from their head.
Can't do that either, or HE would bow out from the sides too! lol
Seeing the ship in totality...in the sunshine...looks amazing...
I really hope somebody is taking glamour shots for a calendar.
@@keab42 Show me where you keep your powder
Suddenly I understand the scale modeler's dislike of 'waterline' models. Even though she belongs in the water, it's magnificent seeing the entire ship.
We flew up to see her in dry dock because it was a once in a life time experience. We had a great time on our tour but she belongs in the water.
Where did you come from?
I went to its recommissioning in 1983 in Long Beach. Interesting. Now cut it up and stop spending taxpayer money on it.
@@wickedguppy3715 Shut up lmao
A Pennsylvanian here...While I love the history of BB-38 USS PENNSYLVANIA, she currently resides at the bottom of Kwajalein Atoll....plus I just absolutely love BB-62!!!!! Whenever I think of a American Battleship, the Big J is the image I see in my brain.
Since I was a kid. I loved machinery, ships and airplanes. New Jersey is My Battleship from that time. Reagan reactivating the four Iowa's was a time when I paid a lot of attention. When President Carter suggested chopping them up I wrote letters and called people. A lot of other people did too. I wish I had the time to see New Jersey in drydock but get a lot of satisfaction that she is being so well taken care of by Ryan and his team. I think of these ships as dormant volcanoes. In the very unlikely event they are reactivated, this kind care and the knowledge base sustained would make that possible.
Yeah, it would've been nice if she'd been preserved instead of used as an A-bomb target. But she was in bad shape and nobody was interested in saving old battleships back then.
Of course I'm stating the obvious - and absolutely no offense to our fine countryfolk in New Jersey - Yes, she is a New Jersey girl but was born in Pennsylvania. I'm proud of that.
I mean plus it’s always hit or miss whether anyone cares about preserving a ship to start with. Being from Washington I think it would’ve been worth preserving USS Washington, she certainly had historical cred for winning the navy’s only one on one battleship gunnery duel.
But at the end of the day no one tried to preserve the ship
I can't travel due to health and age. These videos are wonderful for people like me.
I would have liked to have taken a drydock tour.
All your videos have been great. I found your channel last year and have learned a lot about the Iowas.
THANK YOU for all you and your staff do to preserve history.
My museum ship - the S.S. Keewatin - now lives inside a drydock. But, unlike what many may think, we'll never drain the drydock to 'preserve' her for the same reasons mentioned in this video.
At least the good news is that if/when we do major hull repairs, we don't have to tow her anywhere. We can simply drain where she lives now, fix it, and refloat her. It's extremely lucky that the drydock she lives in is also a historical landmark itself, making it a match made in heaven!
Is the dock flooded with fresh or salt water? The museum ships in Duluth seem to benefit from fresh water.
My family and I toured Keewatin multiple times when she was in Douglas, MI. She's a beautiful old lady, and it is wonderful that you are keeping her alive and afloat!
@@SCiliskeSlyc She's in fresh water; the entire Great Lakes and a vast majority of the St. Lawrence River is freshwater. 🙂 The fact that she's spent her entire career in freshwater (except for her initial transatlantic crossing) may be why she's held up so well.
@@andrewbigelow1415 She is! I keep learning new things about her almost every day I work there.
Fill thr dock with sand
I would rather see her in the water underway. Thanks, Ryan and Libby for all the hard work you put in while the Grand Lady has her makeover.
An Iowa class battleship underway, at speed with a "bone in her teeth" with a 20 foot "roostertail" behind is a magnificent sight. I'm fortunate enough to have seen three of them at sea (not all at the same time) during my time in the Navy. In fact, the only one of the four I've not seen underway or firing her main battery is New Jersey and that opportunity won't come again.
Now THAT gives me an idea!
How feasible would it be to turn her, say once or twice a year, and set her back at the museum moorings? It's a big event, people can pay for the privilege to ride her for the trip, etc etc.
😂😂😂 ridiculous idea.@@Klemeq
Having a tourist fall off the ship into the water would be bad.
Having a tourist fall off the ship twice as far onto concrete would be death.
How many have fallen off?
Point
Having someone fall into a group of people being shown the bilge keels would really ruin a tour.
I'm not the biggest fan of "stuffed and mounted." I understand if that's the only way to preserve the artifact. I also get all of the why when the navy says that you can't activate the steam plant. But the more alive you can make the artifact the better. Ships and boats are made to float. Airplanes are made to fly. Steam locomotives are meant to boil water and pull things down the track. And Iowa (and New York) class battleships belong in the water.
@jameshigh6481 I have heard that it isn't possible to bring the NJ back into service but my heart tells me that it could be done and that it is worth it
She'll sag out and create all kinds of problems, She's built for the water, her framing and decking is built to be in the water.
Yup, Ryan mentioned that in an old video
While I liked the opportunity to pull out my boat (30ft sailboat and home) for the opportunity to complete projects and maintainance, it was always a relief to put her back in.
Eh, that is not really how naval architecture works. Steel has a very well understood stress/strain curve, and drydocking is not allowed to push steel into the plastic deformation of that curve.
@@offshorebear Ryan is a great guy but he keeps repeating this same misinformation. I've corrected him several times but doesn't want to hear it. Based on the number of up votes to @jeffsr8300, nobody else want to hear it either. Oh well.
@@offshorebear Fiction attracts more attention than boring facts and gives the host more an air of expertise. Most of the fan club doesn't know the difference between wooden ships and steel ships.
You gotta love a museum curator who understands the normal force
I’m glad here in the UK we now have SS Great Britain in permanent dry dock, but it’s in the dock it was built in, in a large city (Bristol). It’s a much smaller ship, and has those wedges mentioned, and they’ve made a ‘waterline effect’ so it can be done, but as Ryan says, you have to have the factors for it to make sense.
Absolutely right (though worth noting that this dry dock is where BB62 was built - so it therefore could be argued this is where she belongs as much as SS Gt. Britain does where she is!)
Also SS Great Britain has critical corrosion problems, salt has embedded itself in the hull material. If she was put back in the water she would corrode to nothing in a small number of years. To stop her corroding she has dehumidified air blown all around the hull below the water line glass cover. There's no way to do that other than in a dry dock.
I was one of the people who came in from out of country! I’m surprised and pleased that apparently I was far from the only one LOL
I’ve now travelled 3 times for BBNJ: sleeping aboard on the first adults-only overnight in summer 2022, watching her towed into dry dock in March 2024, and being underneath her in dry dock in April of 2024
Whether or not Pennsylvania cares much about the battleship, they sure owe her for all the business she’s bringing in LMAO
We have enough video of Ryan that i bet in 3024 you will be able to visit Battleship New Jersey and be greated by an AI hologram "hi, I'm Ryan szymanski (sp), the early 21st century and now virtual curator of Battleship New Jersey".
I'm only in Pittsburgh,, but haven't been able to make a drydock tour work. I'm hoping to be able to make it out to tour with my family this summer! Thank you for all of the work yinz do!
missed it by 1 letter- an I instead of a Y. But I am relying that his hard hat has it spelled correctly !
@@wfoj21The original Polish spelling would be "Szymański", but Ryan does spell it with an i.
I believe that the correct spelling is "Szimanskicuratorofthebattleshipnewjerseymuseumandmemorial"
:)
I went to see the ship this past Saturday (5-18-24) and it was truly awesome.
Almost 60 years ago already, I visited the North Carolina in Wilmington. It was and probably still is one of the most accessible BBs to visit. At that time though, there was only limited access to areas in the interior. Having most or at least a lot available to tour, easy access and in its natural(?) environment is what drew me to tour her. Put her back in the water!
For now though, age, disabilities and health deny me the opportunity to visit the New Jersey as much as I would like to. She shelled areas where I had been in Vietnam.
There's several decks open for tours North Carolina. Engine room, turrets, shell handling and storage areas. There's the combat information center, room with analog computers and fire controls for 16 inch guns. Machine shop,crew quarters, laundry areas, bridge where they steered the ship. Many other rooms too many to mention. The ship is sitting in mud and they have built a cofferdam around the ship in which they have drained water out to work on replacing hull metal plates .They have also built a walkway around the ship so you can view the ship. A few years ago they had a statewide fundraising campaign to raise money to replace the teak deck. I filled out 3 cardboard quarter holders. The old teak deck boards were cut up in small sections and sold. I bought a piece. Mine has a little grey paint and what looks like a place where a bullet ricochettted off the deck. Last time I visited her with my sister and brother-in law we had a chance to talk to volunteers who work on the battleship. I also met the man who was a nightwatchman who wrote Ghosts of The Battleship North Carolina. He signed my copy of his book. I live less than 2 hours from Wilmington.
Ryan knows his business…much respect!
Absolutely better in the water. In the smaller ships you can feel the ship move slightly. That adds to the experience for sure.
Also perhaps to Dramamine sales in the gift shop. 😂
@@PrezVetogotta be a big moneymaker. Those gas station packs are like 8 bucks per pill!
The compound curves of the bow is just stunning...
Ryan, whoever your successor eventually is, will have enormous shoes to fill. Another really interesting video. Having NJ out of the water is like having a shark out of water - it's not where it wants to be and it can only last a short time. NJ is at home in the water, and displaying her that way shows how she looked while waiting for sailors on shore leave, patrolling sea lanes, shelling targets and performing other duties. She looks beautiful sitting there, and it was a privilege to see her that way - but looking forward to her being back afloat once again! 👍 p.s. - it would be good for visitors to be informed about NJ's center forward 16" barrel over at the Navy Yard Parade Grounds at Intrepid & Broad streets. I stopped there on my way back from the tour - it's worth the time! ;)
All classic vessels are awesome to see out of the water, and its great for them to be hauled out or drydocked for routine maintenance & repair, but they belong in the water long term. It's been a pleasure to see USS NJ in drydock, but she belongs at sea, but floating at the dock is the next best thing. At least she's floating.
It was fantastic to see the New Jersey for the first time in drydock. As someone who lives far far away (Northern Alberta) this was more like a once in a lifetime experience for me, and I was not disappointed. I visited on May 18 and our tour guide was awesome! I forget his name but he was a younger guy and was very knowledgeable about the ship. I was on my way back from vacation and it just happened to coincide with the drydock tours so I knew I'd never get another chance. Maybe one day I'll see her again and get a topside tour!
Do you reside in Edmonton?
Every time I watch one of Ryan's videos I learn something. He makes me smarter.
If the world was a zero-sum place, that would mean that every time you become smarter, he would become less so.
An Iowa class battleship underway, at speed with a "bone in her teeth" with a 20 foot "roostertail" behind is a magnificent sight. I'm fortunate enough to have seen three of them at sea (not all at the same time) during my time in the Navy. In fact, the only one of the four I've not seen underway or firing her main battery is New Jersey and that opportunity won't come again unfortunately.
The technology is conceivable but the expense is beyond the means of any conceivable museum organization to build a basin filled with crystal clear water to float her in, allowing an examination and display of the hull from both above and below the waterline like a model in a bathtub or swimming pool.
If there ever need again.... they still can serve... the armor is still empressive
@@beedalton9675wrong.
Honest to God, my biggest worries about keeping NJ on the blocks would be: (1) more of a pain than the pier for tours, (2) I imagine the dockyard would expect to be compensated for the use of their big concrete rectangle that they could otherwise be using to fix big boats in, and (3) you're going to have to refloat her every 5 years to pull her forward or aft far enough to drop her down and fix all the crap that is happening where the blocks were meeting the hull for the last 5 years.
2) isn't as much of an issue as this is the last planned use of this drydock, after which it will be permanently flooded. Parking and visitor access to a working naval shipyard are different stories.
The problem is Devil runs the world. He is lier and murderer. This is the reason why Hitler got the power, but Christ was executed as "blasphemer" and "rioter" by denunciation of clergy.
That's why we've got the Gospel about the God's kingdom. Jehovah would put everything in order. The dead will be resurected and we'll meet our beloved ones again! :-)
I agree with you Ryan, While it's extremely cool to see her on blocks, Ships are supposed to float!
Your crew knew the perfect shot. What an angle! This highlights the beauty of the Iowa Class, and their gorgeous lines. Works of magnificent, terriblly powerful art.
An excellent series of the drydock period with very good coverage of all of what it takes to keep Battleship New Jersey well-maintained; ready and safe for future visitors. I too enjoy seeing her out of the water showing off her beautiful shape and lines.
New Jersey is looking spectacular
Having been aboard her on Independence Day 2 years ago, seeing her out of the water and being able to walk underneath such an amazing ship was a once in a lifetime experience. Thankful I was able to take the drydock tour with my Dad who was on the Iowa in the 80s. Thank you your efforts!
In the water. And then, once every 30 years, you create and event when it has to be dry docked, and repainted. Nice job with this ship Ryan! Thanks for these historic videos!
Man. She is looking good with the fresh paint! Excellent work and congrats to the team so far!
Ryan is an excellent presenter - what an asset to the ship and her preservation 👍👍👍
That wonderful flared bow looks beautiful out of the water. Not denying what you just said, I’m just commenting on how good she looks.
Made it out for a drydock tour last month for the "once in a lifetime" experience. Been to her in Camden many times (including her setting off for drydock on my birthday in 2024 when I turned 33). I plan on taking my kids there when they can appreciate her. As a South Jersian she's a staple in my heritage. your enthusiasm to keep her afloat for generations is commendable. I truly hope that happens. Its a point of human history that shouldn't be forgotten.
Good job to everyone who has worked on this!
As much as we enjoyed visiting the ship out of the water (and what a beautiful sight she is to behold), she obviously does belong in the water. Thank you Ryan, Libby, and all the staff of BB-62, the drydock tour was a great experience!!
Words can't describe this battlewagon! Just amazing!!
When I was a kid we toured the Missouri while it was still in Bremerton WA. That was an experience I'll never forget.
"De Wadden" is an excellent example as to why you can't preserve a ship in a drydock permanently. While she was a much smaller example, all the same factors were at play which led to her being scrapped this year.
I just watched a few videos on it what a bloody shame.
DeWadden was scrapped because no one could afford to replace the gutted interior, restore the exterior, and maintain it as a museum ship. Structurally it was sound and being stored in a drydock had zero to do with its demise, it was solely a business decision. All the bits that attract visitors rotted away and there was nothing particularly worth investing huge amounts of money to continue a fantasy that appealed to very few people. De Wadden is NOT an example of what drydocking does to a steel ship, it is an example of the fact that an attraction needs to attract, when it no longer attracts sufficient income it becomes scrap.
@@oldtugs . She was scrapped because it was too expensive to repair the keel, which was fractured in 7 places. Almost every frame was fractured. She was bowed out 5 inches. That sort of damage is something you can't repair, and all of that was due to sitting above water for far too long. Yes a business decision did have a playing factor, however the actual reason why she was scrapped was because she was at risk of collapse inside the drydock.
@@aquastar7315 And the reason it was in such bad shape is because it was used to carry rocks, timber, coal and other bulk cargo that is the most damaging cargo that can be loaded on a ship. Dropping tons of stone or coal into and out of the holds without very careful attention to placement and drop will sink a ship all by itself. It is very destructive to the light iron and steel framing used on turn of century ships. Dry docking did not kill that ship, low budget operators carrying damaging cargo and lack of expensive maintenance did, just as it kills modern ships today.
@@oldtugs The damage you speak of effected her plating, but not her framing itself. She was originally put in drydock because her skin was too thin. It was so bad that she had to be beached once to prevent her from sinking after driftwood punctured her hull. Her condition was monitored during her time with the museum and it wasn't until her later years that she quickly started developing cracks in her framing. As she was at risk of structural collapse, she was scrapped.
Battleships are just cool in & out of the water thank you to all the veterans who served and thank you for the work you do and preserving the lives of these old ships
I love seeing all the Scouts visiting BB-62!
The best dry dock exhibition i have ever seen is the SS Great Britain in Bristol, Uk. It gives the impression of being in the water and the hull below the waterline is in an atmosphere controlled environment as the hull is so fragile. Its an amazing piece of engineering.
2:29 Because of Ryan and the Battleship New Jersey youtube channel.
You are doing a great job! The paint looks great! She was one of my Navy ships, and when she was in constant use, it was hard to keep her looking so pretty. However, there is nothing as awe inspiring as watching an Iowa class glide gracefully back into port after a deployment!
Visited the Cutty Sark in London last week. She used to sit on her keel in its covered dry dock but after 60(?) years like that, the keel & hull damage was significant. In 2012(?) She was raised off her keel and ribs were installed to put pressure on the sides of the ship to attempt to replicate the pressure of being in the water. Being a brass clad wooden ship, She wouldn't last long in the Thames but it I would've preferred to see Her afloat.
There is a lot more to Cutty Sark's construction and structural issues than your post implies. It is a "composite" contruction hull that uses relatively thin riveted iron framing planked with wood to form the hull. The weight of the masts and corrosion of the iron structural parts in contact with rotting wood created the problems. If it were not in a drydock it would have sunk years before the renovations were performed. It is not accurate or informative to try and equate the Cutty Sark with steel ship construction.
Thank you for taking such good care of her. I hope that you can make a good video presentation of the dry docking maintenance for an on board presentation so people can see what she looks like out of the water and how much work goes into the preservation.
Deck droop (bow-sag, )deck collapse, and a-lot of really bad shit that ya don’t want. Good topic for a video, looking forward to this.
Are you just making things up by chance?? If the boat is properly supported - with the correct number of blocks plus 35% for redundancy - and the blocks are maintained and properly positioned - there is NO structural reason the ship cannot remain on the blocks indefinitely. With her so underloaded - it's actually slightly better for her long-term structure to be kept high- and dry - on the blocks she's sitting much closer to her intended trim than she sits when moored currently. But - there are a million other reasons why you wouldn't keep a boat like NJ out of the water - especially after you just paid all that money for all the expensive paint to protect her from the water.
I'm not trying to be mean - but you say deck-droop - I think of a wooden deck on the back of your house. NJ doesn't have that problem. She's designed to displace nearly 60,000 long-tons of sea-water and to be able to, safetly, make better than 30 knots at that weight - in open ocean - I promise - neither the keel nor the bow nor any important element of the hull or deck is worried about the forces associated with remaining completely motionless.
@@Joseph55220it’s not the support from the bottom that is the problem, the blocks take care of that, but lack of support from the sides. All the force from mass of the upper part of the ship is excreted downward AND outward thus eventually bowing out the hull. If the ship is in water, that water exerts pressure against all sides of the hull counter acting that force. What you can do, and other ships have done, is embed it in mud, concrete or build some sort of other structure around it. But each of those has other problems.
@@mlehky ahh... that does make complete sense. I'll be curious to know if NJ suffers from those concerns. Naval warship are designed with margins such that they can survive rough seas at 20 knots, with battle damage, fire damage, and flooding, while firing the mains 3 times every 2 minutes - so I'm not sure if a ship as robust as NJ will actually begin to pull herself apart if you were to keep her on the blocks for decades.
I also know enough about how she was designed and built to suggest that very little of her super-structure likely translates into the hull members - I really think the blocks are taking 95% of the load and the hull can take the remaining 5% indefinitely with a considerable safety-margin on top of it.
I am glad to hear Ryan speak about the risks and damage that permanently dry docking the ship can cause. A great example of the effects of not being afloat can be seen by the scope and work that was required to fix the Battleship Texas. The Texas was actually sitting in the mud at her berth in Galveston. I took a tour aboard her in 2000. The effects of not being supported properly by the water was evident by the visible buckling of the bulkheads and decks. Some of the bulkheads had bulged as much as 14 inches from where they should have been. This damage is part of what was desperately needed to repair as it was causing damage and leaking of the outer hull. Due to the issues with her berthing and the fact that she sat for so long it required over a hundred million dollars to repair her to prevent her from sinking. She was leaking 5,000 gallons of seawater per hour and required her pumps to be operating 24 hours a day to keep from sinking at her berth. Her hull so badly corroded and damaged that she was taking on enough water to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool every 5 and a half days. Know a couple of people who worked on the repairs to her hull and they said that if he'd dry docking had been delayed another year she would have never made it to the dock to be repaired.
Thanks for the insights into how the museum business works.
Amazing to watch your restoration of this magnificent vessel. When i was ten ( now am 53) I put together a model of this very ship. When I was a teenager the New Jersey had its deployment and Operation in Beruit, Lebanon. As we all know it's only steel but for some people its just memories of a past life. And that is beautiful
What Ryan is trying to say that is while she may have been BUILT out of the water, doesn't mean that she needs to remain out of the water. IIRC, the Iowas were designed to displace ~55,000 tons. That displaced weight is shared NOT ONLY by the bottom of the ship, but also the sides of the ship below the waterline. The weight of the entire volume of water displaced by the entire ship. 1-cubic foot of water weighs almost 64 pounds. 55, 000 tons is 116 MILLION pounds. Almost HALF of that needs to be supported by the sides of the ship below waterline. Simple physics!
Well, Ryan, I'm from PA and I want to thank you for your work and dedication to preserving the NJ. It's looking beautiful.
Has to be one of the most asked questions, given how many times Ryan (and other curators) had to at it. :))
I am so grateful that we someone like Ryan and his team taking care of this national treasure. It is a symbol of our past greatness and hopeful a reminder to people in the future of what WE can build to help protect our great country. Thank you so much.
Something I want to say: we measure boats in terms of their displacement. So: the VOLUME of water that they push out of their way. This is their weight and, if properly measured, it is hyper accurate. I DESPERATELY WANT TO KNOW: when they re-float NJ - does the dockyard have the capabilities of calculating PRECISELY how much water they pumped into her berth at the moment she starts to ease off all her blocks? Cuz - this could be an AMAZING OPPORTUNITY for us to figure out EXACTLY how much NJ weighs in 2024.
The load-lines don't work well for ships as big as NJ because the boat displaces sooo much water that she pushes the water level in her immediate vicinity up - now, they also float higher because of the relatively-higher-water-pressure bubble they create around them - but really - what you want to do is measure the displacement of the boat relative to the water-level 100 yards away from her and then do all the accounting for water salinity, tides, waves, the boat bobbing around during your measurements, etc. ... but, dry-dock is a GREAT chance to figure out how much water it takes to make New Jersey float. And, once she is floating, you have to do additional computations for account for a number of other variables if you are attempting to calculate a reasonably accurate displacement for her.
In almost a comic twist however, it is actually easier to pin down because she is so out of trim. Because we have a very good idea of her bow to stern weight distribution - it's possible to calculate to a smaller margin of error when she is moored now than if she was moored with bow-favoring ballast aboard.
I can assure you that not only does the drydock not have that capability, but also that all your reasons as to why draft lines don't work is complete bull. A battleship is not a mountain, it has zero measurable effect on the water level around it.
A ship moving through the water will push up water ahead of it due to hydrodynamic effects, but newsflash: USS New Jersey hasn't gone above 3 knots in about 30 years.
@@wyattroncin941 Sort of... it's the sort of effect I really would like to test experimentally if I could find the way to test it mythbusters style - cuz I'll admit that I could be proven wrong - my contention is not that the ship raises the level of the water around it in a vessel as great as all the combined oceans of the planet of Earth (although, because you mention it - scientifically speaking, the level of the world's oceans is slightly lower without the NJ moored in the river) - no - the effect I'm talking about is because the ship rocks and rolls and bobs and lists, and caps and dives and the waves can make it to take good measurement unless you are in absolutely still water - for NJ - when she is moored at the pier - I could go out there and figure out how much she weighs on a given day - it would be a chore - but I could go and take the measurements and do all the math... but my margin of error would be far wider than what I believe the dry-dock should have the capability of producing
but back to the nerdy shit i was ranting about - the theory is that the boat is big enough to act as a giant wind-break - or a sail - and it effectively causing the effects of wind and how the wind can interact on the vessel if it is present - if it is calm water and you can get good data - they are good - but as soon as you hit a chop - you just can't always get good measurements
I LOVED❤ LOVED❤ LOVED❤ my birthday tour with you in the drydock! It cost LOTS of pennies, but it was worth every one! Was amazing to see the ENTIRE hull, the rudders, the props, and to walk UNDER the Battleship! I'm anxiously awaiting the commemorative hard hat in the mail once you replenish your supply. ❤
I love this view of the Majestic Lady New Jersey BB 62
Thank-you Ryan for another great video. We had the pleasure of taking an excellent drydock tour on 4/20 with the added bonus of having the opportunity to meet you! Your comments about "pancaking" are very interesting. Has anyone every attempted to measure this? Laser measurement technology today should be able to measure the "sag" that the ship experiences when it initially comes out of the water and as time passes while it's on the blocks. It might not take lasers to be honest, maybe just a plumb bob and piano wire. Thanks again for everything you and your team do!
The ship shouldn't come off of the blocks (I wouldn't expect) but, the first major earthquake that hits the boat while she is on the blocks is going to trigger gremlins all over the boat that you'll be hunting down for the next 3 decades.
hey, don't jinx the east coast with another earthquake!!
She is a breathtaking good looking ship, with an amazing history. I love the IOWA class battleships. Although a machine for war, she was at her time a marvelous piece of engineering and what the human mind can achieve. Therefore, parts of history like her need to be preserved and shown to the future generations, to pay tribute to all that worked, lived and passed away (1 casualty I believe) serving on her. Moreover, congratulations to you sir and all others that make the effort to preserve and keep her in such an excellent condition. Keep up the excellent job.
Damn that ship looks good.
This was an amazing discussion of the pros and cons of permanent drydocking. Ryan is amazing.
BB55 (North Carolina) is in “Mud dock”
I hope before long I can come see the BB62 . I have only gotten to go visit the BB60
CV-16 and a few subs . Thank you for all of the videos that show so much. I very much appreciate all of you that keep these Iowa Class ships in good condition.
Why can’t you keep the ship in dry dock permanently?
*inhales*
Well…
Battleship New Jersey, Wow, this made my day brighter! Thank you!
I understand HMS Victory is experiencing significant structural “creep” due to being drydocked long-term and will require a significant and costly effort to correct.
Too true - However a proper supporting and re-aligning system has been designed and is being implemented.. It's taking years as old timbers are having to be bent back into their correct shapes and that is a long slow process.
I took the tour yesterday, and it was AMAZING, but I can't wait to visit again back in Camden.
She's a boat. She was born to swim.
Ryan, variety is the spice of life. It’s nice to see New Jersey out of the water getting fixed up, but she belongs in the water in ready-to-reactivate condition.
Boat's weight is ment to be supported by water, letting it hang in dry dock the metal will begin to bend or sag due to heavy weight
Simply put an accurate but however it may be an eventuality that cannot be avoided as the metal has a lifespan and being in the water for a century or more will not be permissible they'll have to come up with a different system to stabilize it but I think New Jersey as well as the rest of the museum ships in existence will eventually have to be dry docked otherwise they will wither away
nonsense
@@oldtugs I mean it's not nonsense objects are invariably affected by their environment whether due to corrosion corrosion or usage in the case of the USS New Jersey it's almost 900 ft long it's made of various types of steals and it was intended to be in the water so Boeing of the hull is something that can Afflicted but eventuality is at some point it will have to be taken out of the water or we lose it for good
@@TheDogGeneral This whole "must be supported by water" nonsense is pseudo science promoted by the video producer and fan viewers. It has no factual basis beyond wooden hulled vessels. Do skycrapers bulge at the bottom? Are the gun barrels drooping toward the deck? Is the beam increasing because the superstructure sits above the waterline? Are boneyard/museum aircraft and the wings of mothballed airliners sagging under their own weight? They are fabricated of relatively flimsy aluminum so by museum ship expert standards the wingtips should be in the dirt by now. You are correct in saying that the ship will be lost for good but in or out of the water is irrelevant. It will corrode away because there are not enough skilled or unskilled volunteers or money enough to maintain that ship beyond easily viewed cosmetics. If you look at any of the online videos showing areas off the normal tour route you will see the effects of corrosion and neglect dating from its last Navy service, it will only get worse, there isn't will among taxpayers or enough money in any State treasury to reverse the process of decay. I have a term for this latest nonsense, "battleship bullship".
I love Ryan’s attitude about the preservation of the ship. Millenia! I know it’s obvious given his job, but I still appreciate his attitude. It is so correct.
I have never seen the New Jersey. I got my Dad to take me to see The Mighty Mo when she was still in service and came to Australia for a visit. Very, very impressive ship and very impressive crew. ❤
This angle almost looks fake
Yeah I was thinking that when they're out of water they look unreal. They need to be in the water to look correct but I will say you should see a submarine out of the water. Very sinister looking.
Look at the guy walking down by the bow at 10:00. Really gives perspective of the size
It feels like a bit of fisheye lense effect.
Ryan, I agree that boats in general should be viewed "afloat". That said, I truly appreciate the view of the underwater profile. No longer "classified information", those details are important to me. But for the overall purpose of preserving a significant piece of U.S. history, I wholeheartedly agree this vessel should remain afloat and accessible to the public vs. permanently drydocked.
P.S. Was aboard USS Alabama in Mobile, AL recently (2024). Wonderfully preserved IMO
Look at what is happening to HMS Victory which is permanently berthing in a drydock, she is sagging but considering that over a hundred years ago, she was found to be in such poor condition that she had to be permanently drydock to keep her from sinking
Visiting the HMS Victory is well worth your time should one find themselves in her neighborhood.😀
Nice explanation of how the forces of water maintain the ship's shape. I never thought about that aspect of being stored on land for an extended period of time.
Ryan, you left out the best option. Seeing her still sailing around on the open seas and taking people on experience cruises of what it was like to spend a week at sea on a battleship. I know I'd much rather be on an Iowa-class rather than some cruise ship.
I want to say thanks from Sweden for taking your time and doing your great videos
Funny that Ryan thinks Camden is a tourist hot spot 🤣
That's how he spins it. It's a dangerous hell hole.
I've been told that Camden is the New Jersey of New Jersey
@@damkayaker to be fair, doesn't "dangerous hell hole" describe pretty much every urban area in that state?
@@damkayaker The area where _New Jersey_ is docked is a very nice riverside park.👍
Please don’t discourage people from visiting her with that kind of misinformation.👎
@@SavingMaverick55 NO, it’s not accurate. I think most cities in the USA have good and not so good parts; New Jersey isn’t any worse than any other place I’ve been, and unless you’re going out of your way to look for the trouble spots there is nothing to worry about.
I was on subs for 14 years and seeing the boat in drydock was so much different. I also saw the Nimitz in drydock. That was impressive.
Look at the red underbelly of the battleship! Wow!
Surprised you didn’t mention HMS Victory when describing the “compression” effect of having a ship in drydock. Victory sustained quite a bit of damage over the years from being in drydock, but now they’ve developed a sophisticated suspension-like system to simulate that effect.
Absolutely love all of these videos!
I think Ryan gets lots of credit for this temporary bump in sales while in drydock
He has provided HUGE entertainment value and got people interested in the ship - this is why there is a huge demand for these temporary drydock tours.
I'm not a big fan of the state of New Jersey, but I will plan a trip to see the ship there.
Might be one of the best ones yet! I think this really highlights the realities of this. I am looking forward to coming back when she is back where she belongs - even though this is so special and rare :)
My destroyer ( USS Lawrence DDG-4 ) spent a little over a year in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard from spring of 81 to summer of 82. Getting a chance to walk in the bottom of the dry dock with the ship on blocks was a real eye opener. Getting to climb to the top of the mast while she was on blocks was a thrill. If any of the old crew see this: Lou, Billy Joe, Victor, Rick, or Harvey,
Hello!
This guy does a great job of explaining everything about this ship. Really informative.
Remember seeing both the New Jersey and the Missouri side by side in front of my office during the late 1980’s and 1990’s. It was cool to walk under the USS Ranger at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, but a ship belongs in the water.
Had my tour on Sunday May, 19th. The most amazing thing ever!!!
I got to tour BB-62 around 1985 when was in Hunter Point SF for Fleet Week. I was stationed nearby at NAS Moffett Field.
It’s very interesting to see it out of the water to understand the size the magnitude, especially the propeller how many stories it stands, but clearly there’s nothing like walking the gang plank onto a ship to experience it.
When the USS Missouri came to Fremantle Western Australia, they parked it right out the front of my house, & it was an awesome sight.
That mention of a drydock in NJ that could possibly accommodate an Iowa-class battleship makes wonder where that would be, even though the Philadelphia Navy Yard is obviously closer. My great grandfather was a boiler inspector at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and in Hoboken, but I’d assume those weren’t capital ships.
I remember seeing her in Bremerton parked next to the Missouri when the Missouri was partially open to tour. I wanted to board the Jersey and explore all day!
Congratulations once again to you and your crew Mr. curator. Cracked the 240,000 subscriber mark. Almost to a quarter million keep up the good work.
That is a beautiful, awesome, superlative view. It makes me proud to be an American, and a Human Being.
A number of years ago when I was living in Seattle I rode my bike to an overlook in West Seattle and saw the New Jersey in Puget sound Elliott Bay. It was awesome and majestic and like some thing I had never seen before. The ship looked actually quite small in the harbor in comparison but your eye went right to it. I will never forget it that image.
I was on a conventional aircraft carrier in PNSY next door to the Wisconsin even in comparison to an aircraft carrier the Battleship even looked impressive next to an aircraft carrier which most ships just aren't as impressive. We couldn't go onboard though, there was extra security because the Iowa had still recently had a gun accident. The New Jersey is a beautiful ship. I wish you guys Success on keeping her in good condition.
5:30 am awesome ship fantastic coverage of restoration !