BB-35 ¤ Fall Season 2OO5

Special Reports on USS Texas BB~35 Dreadnought. .

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Cpt Spike Mike
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Post by Cpt Spike Mike » 08-15-2005 05:43 AM

Yes Mark, that is the plan being pushed forward by Barry Ward and the Battleship Texas Foundation. The BTF is the main foundation responsible for the ship's welfare, and oversee her progress into the future. As far as I know, this proposed set-up would be the only one of its type for any US Navy floating museum, and the most advanced battleship mooring system in the world.

In the attached photo, you can see her forward-most mooring column. (There are actually two columns there; the second one is barelt visible) Attached to that column is a sleeved collar. along the starboard side of the ship (I know: wrong side! :) ) there are a total of four of these massive columns & collars; each column is about 7 feet in diameter. They allow the USS Texas to rise & settle with the ever-moving tides. These columns were installed in the slip during the 1988-9O drydock trip, when she was down in Galveston's now-defuct Todd Shipyard. They are designed to withstand winds of up to 12O mph.

They also rise & fall, at a much faster rate, when a long and heavy-loaded freighter ship passes by her in the Houston Ship Channel. As the freighter goes by, tens of thousands of gallons in channel water are sucked out of the slip, and you can hear the collars creak, pop, groan & bang as the collars slowly slide down the plastic-ribbed columns. If you stand still, you can slowly feel the ship settling over a period of about five minutes. It'll hold in the down spot for about three minutes, and then the water will slowly start to flow back into the slip, reversing the process. It really is an awesome feeling, and someday I plan to set up a tripod & camera to take a time-lapse photo run of the process from the gangplank. :cool:

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Post by Cpt Spike Mike » 08-15-2005 06:34 AM

Here's a page from Chief Mitchell's website showing the deck plan drawings on the 2nd Deck: Senior Officers' area, forward of the Ward Room which is being restored. There are also some "before" and "during" restoration shots there that can be compared to what I've posted above. :)

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Post by Cpt Spike Mike » 08-16-2005 12:42 PM

Bow-on shot of the USS Texas.

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Post by Cpt Spike Mike » 08-16-2005 03:55 PM

Mark, when you shake a veteran's hand and see the smile and hear the stories, it's all worth it. When you see the warm expression of gratitude on thier face, grateful that someone cares enough to preserve thier ship, it's all worth it. When you assist an aging veteran in a wheelchair to the front of the chowline, and he gets out of his chair to walk through the chowline, it's all worth it. When you're the only crewman during the whole day who went up the superstructure, and find the ship's bugler peering into the pilothouse and you let him in to see his old station, it's all worth it. :cool:

When the paint was drying I took this shot of the State Room common hall, looking aft. That big pipe in the back is the port Anchor Chain Tube leading down to the Chain Locker.

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Post by TABwebmaster » 08-16-2005 05:07 PM

I love this thread, Spike!:D It has me thinking of going back in! I have til I'm 35 unless they changed that so I have a few years left to decide. Wouldn't be on the Connie though so it wouldn't be the same.

Keep posting pics when you have time. I love the narrative you have going on in here;)

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Post by Cpt Spike Mike » 08-17-2005 07:48 AM

Now Mark, this thread is meant to inspire, but let's not go crazy with the life-altering decisions. :eek:

The library needs you more than the Navy! :D

Here's another shot after the day's work, again from the State Room common hall. This is the deck hatch leading down to the Half Deck in the bow. This hatch, which probably weighs in at around 6OO to 8OO pounds, is welded into a permanent open position. This is done throughout the ship to keep up air circulation and prevent deoxification of a sealed compartment.

When a compartment or space is seadled, it may be several years to more than a decade before it's opened again. In that time, corrosion taking place (iron turning into iron oxide) will slowly draw the oxygen out of the room. This can be hazardous to entering personnel, and in fact killed one worker at Todd Shipyard when he did just that during the 1988-9O drydock trip. A second worker was almost overcome as well.

To keep the public out of the restricted space (Half Deck & below) a cage has been erected around the deck hatch. It will have a door with a lock on it, allowing us easier access to this part of the ship.

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Post by Cpt Spike Mike » 08-17-2005 07:51 AM

And here's a shot from the starboard side of the deck hatch, again looking towards the bow of the ship. This shot has been tweaked a little to show the darker hallway, as the sunlight was very bright in the foreground. There's another deck hatch we've been using for ventilation down here; it's directly above this deck's hatch and leads up to the Main Deck. When the work is done in here, the upper deck hatch will be closed and battened with large bolts.

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Post by Cpt Spike Mike » 08-18-2005 08:30 AM

This is an overhead ventilation duct in the common hall before restoration. It is completely corroded through, showing two large holes. This shot was taken around 1½ years ago.

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Post by Cpt Spike Mike » 08-18-2005 08:32 AM

And this is the same vent duct today, completely refurbished with coats of primer white and Officer Green paint. :cool:

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Post by TABwebmaster » 08-18-2005 11:17 AM

When you and the crew take to refurbishing do you spray that paint on or use brush and roller? I can remember the days when we had to string the snake tubing from the compartment we were painting to the outside. There was a blower attached to the end in the room. Still had some good times with the fumes though, heh:D

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Post by Guest » 08-18-2005 07:16 PM

Officer Green paint-

Is that issued through the armed forces, or something you can pick up at Home Depot?

You should be a guest on C2C. You have the knowledge and pictures that I think would be compelling. It's not a story dealing with the paranormal, (unless there are ghosts aboard):eek:, but it would be interesting.

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Post by Cpt Spike Mike » 08-18-2005 07:23 PM

Mark, any large areas are sprayed, as is shown in the opening post of this thread. We also have a blower motor pushing air out of a bulkhead pass to the outside. It does a rather efficient job of puliing out most of the funes, and the rest of the ship can still remain open to trhe public.

However, when we did the General Store Keeper's office over two years ago, the desks were painted Equipment Gray and done with brushes.

Thank you, Pink Tangerine. And no, Officer Green isn't available at Home Depot, these are paint formulas that have been around since WWII and still used by the Navy. :cool:

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Post by TABwebmaster » 08-22-2005 04:57 PM

Officer Green & Haze Grey:D

Whenever I get a chance and funds are aplenty I'll be coming down for a tour, Spike. I'll give you a heads up well in advance.

I'll pick up Dale on the way since he lives in Missouri:)

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Post by Cpt Spike Mike » 08-23-2005 03:01 AM

Kewl Mark, there are a few good hotel locations nearby. :cool:

Here are some shots of the mooring columns. In this shot, the aft column of the first pair, you can see where some of the black nylon runners have been broken away, leaving the bottoms of some runners slighly curled. The columns themselves are undergoing some renovation, although the TFV doesn't help out on this one; it's all ship's crew.

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Post by Cpt Spike Mike » 08-23-2005 03:06 AM

A shot of both forward columns; notice the chains as well as the welded, square brackets attached to the side of the ship and the columns. The ship is actually bolted to the collars, allowing it to be freed if necessary, but it would take some time.

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