She was the jewel of Germany, heralding an age of pride and presence for a country still striving to mend its international image from the devastation of World War II. The first diesel-electric, Maybach-engined Ocean Liner Germany built after the conflict, the Wappen von Hamburg ( Aurora ) had all the latest in technology and style, launching in 1955 as the most technologically advanced and luxurious cruise ship to exist at the time. Since then, she’s changed hands and names over half a dozen times, traveling the world as the Polar Star, Xanadu, and more, to finally arrive as the Aurora off the coast of California… and right into Christopher Willson's’ open arms.
At this moment, Aurora sits expectantly in Stockton, under restoration and ready to be used as a conference center, private retreat, and social innovation hub on the California Delta before her historic re-entry to the Bay. We invite you to subscribe and watch our efforts to bring this historic cruise ship back to life.
Question? Maybe it will be addressed in later videos. Why start with the floor inside and the outside deck. Why not check and see it the engines will still work and if the hull needs repairs. No need to do all the other stuff if hull leaks or boat will not move. Or was the plan to us tugs to move to a permanent location and build a coffer dam around ship like with the USS North Carolina BB55.
I just read an article that the ship sank and they removed an estimated 21,675 gallons of oily water, 3,193 gallons of hazardous waste, and five 25-yard bins of debris was removed from the vessel.
He sold the boat. Last reported to have been taking on water outside of Stockton. Been following this channel for many years so sad to see it have ended this way.
Means the Aurora already died, or the USCoast guard scammed the owner. That ship was standing still without leakage. Sad story from the CNN news page. We wanna to know all the stories from Aurora last moment and the team who fought to be sure the museum ship will be standing as new
7:48 first time I’ve ever seen someones so concerned about the small touches like that they use automotive Bondo to fill the divots on there ship. I respect your effort man! If I lived in Cali I’d definitely love to come out and help with the restoration! You folks are doing great work and I can hardly wait to see her all 100% finished!
It's hard to convey to the person that just doesn't know how absolutely daunting the amount of rust and repetitive nasty work there is an job like this. Knowing what I know about it I would have focused on the propulsion, anchor set up and bilge pumps first then moved it out of the US to place where I can employ 50 or 60 people chipping and grinding!
Yours must be the most recent comment. This ship is in the news since it is now syncing and the Coast Guard has to take care of it. The owner was lucky he got rid of it in 2023 too bad it didn’t work out, but this is intense. Did you work on the ship yourself who could take it on now or will it be scrapped up near Stockton still? I’m only 60 miles from Stockton myself in California love the Delta dreaming about a boat .bust out another thousand.
Cor blimey... begging for an update??? There is a worldwide web of information that you can access from your browser and find out everything you want to know...as opposed to turning to an abandoned channel on an international streaming platform and asking nameless and faceless humans. Stay in school.
You sound like a right clown. If you hadn’t realised not everything you read on the web is true. Next thing you tell me is that you believe everything you read in wiki. Plum
i just found out about the aurora sinking like 3 months ago and seen it on the news on youtube like today i hope Chris can fix the leek and get the ship floting agine
Hello, Chris! I just read on CNN about the problems with the wonderful ship. I really admire what you've tried to do, and hope that something good will come out of it. I was thinking about the billionaires spending enormous sums buying new megaships. Maybe some of them could be persuaded to take on the Aurora instead the next time?
Hey guys. Hats off to you for trying and putting in the time and effort to pursue your passion. More often than not in life, things dont go as we would hope they would. Theres no shame in what you accomplished. I hope you know that. On to other things. Keep your heads up.
Hello Chris, as a sailor and actor . history lover and American rambler I wish to tell you of something that's been on my mind for years now. The Naalehu theatre, on the Big Island of Hawaii needs you and Jin Li. A historical plantation theatre it really needs someone to bring it back to life. It's located in Naalehu , the Southern most town in the U.S.A. . On the Hawaii belt road right in the center of town. As I type this the ship that I love is apparently on its way to be scrapped in India😢..the Gordon Jensen which i served on in the Bering sea. Only recently did I learn this. 😢😢😢
When this ship has been fully restored it will look beautiful. Thank fully there are people out there who have enough vision to see what can be again and perhaps even better than original.
I have worked on a few large diesels over the past few years. I've even worked with a series of 375 hp diesels built in the 1940's. All of them had a pre-oiling system. I'm betting these do too!
When these cast aluminum horns are assembled with 316 stainless screws, the corrosion of the aluminum is just as bad if not worse than when carbon steel screws are used. The bond between aluminum and stainless from the "white rust" can be unbelievably strong, to the point where an impact wrench can crack the aluminum casting before the bolt breaks free. When you have through-holes like this, and they're really stuck, the best option is usually to drill right down the center of each bolt, with increasingly large bits until it all breaks loose.
