Battleship North Carolina's Cofferdam 

Thank you Rustic & Main!

I have been to visit the North Carolina many times over the years, as I live about 2 hours from Wilmington. I was last there when they were near the finishing stages of installing the cofferdam, and we are planning a big family trip out there in September of this year. There was a very elderly veteran that I met aboard on another visit a couple of years before the cofferdam was finished, who had actually served aboard the USS North Carolina. He said he hoped to be able to live long enough to see her out of the water and under repair. I hope he was able to have his wish.

I find these segments on curatorship and conservation at least as interesting as those on the ship and it's history. The specific challenges of any museum are fascinating but yours is an outsize one. Paintings are fragile but are relatively easily moved to a climate controlled room, tanks are unwieldy but a handful of people in a handful of years can rebuild one as new, but a battleship requires thinking ahead for years and decades (as Ryan is obviously doing). I'd love to hear Ryan talking shop with the Ryan's of other museums like these.

I watched them build the cofferdam and the walkway during several trips to the battleship. :)....

These vessels are just as much veterans as the sailors that fought and died in combat. And should be repected and cared for in the same manor as those veterans that are still with us xx

Sir you are the only battleship curator that does very informative videos of our national treasures like our battleships. Your passion is evident. Thank you for being so 😊

I love how all these different Battleship museums are working to help each other to keep their own individual ship museum's going.

Hey that is Charlie the Gator at 13 minutes, my grand parents lived directly across the river from USS North Carolina 4 streets up [Market and 4th.... I got to tour her in 1963 for the first time . spent many a summer vacation checking her out.....brings back wonderful memories....cheers from Florida, Paul....

I'm an NC native. As an elementary school kid in the sixties, some of the change from my pockets went to save the ship. I always reserve a day out of our vacations to the coast to visit the old gal. Nice job covering the issues of taking care of these priceless old relics.

I first visited the Showboat when I was 9 years old in 1976 and let me tell you, rounding the entrance corner and seeing that massive superstructure looming in the sky is something I will never forget as long as I live. I ran my poor parents ragged the next day all over the ship with my dad explaining things about it (he didn't work on the North Carolina but he did work at Newport News Shipbuilding for the first part of WW II and did work on building the South Dakota-class USS Indiana BB-58) and my mom hanging on the deck complaining about the ladders. It was magical and they did an outstanding job with the preservation at least to my giddy 9-year-old eyes.

The OS2U "Kingfisher", that's parked aft on BB 55, was actually recovered in AK back in the 70s...it was refurbished and placed on the catapult.

I wish the Texas had this much interest to save her. She served in WW1 & WW2. If I remember correctly shes the only dreadnought left

The unspoken thing I love about NC is that because of the cofferdam you can walk all the way around the entire ship and see it from every angle, most battleships and museum ships in general you don't get to see them bow-on because of their pier setup.

Love seeing these old gals being cared for. They've cared for us in the past! GOD BLESS THE USS FLEET!

One cool thing about a cofferdam/stanchion setup is that you could actually walk below the hull if it was done correctly, giving a unique perspective on the size of the ship.

The hurricane damage to the Alabama might make a good episode.

Love that "Show Boat "!!! When I was ten years old I got to go on a tour of Battleship North Carolina, and somehow knew then I would some day join the Navy. And I did........

Dimes for the battleship - as a North Carolina native and a child that attended public school in North Carolina when the Battleship was brought to the Cape Fear, I gave some of my "milk money" to build the place where she would rest. Now, I'm fortunate to be able to retire here in a small town near Wilmington where I can come enjoy the North Carolina and support her. I've thought of becoming a docent for the North Carolina and support her through the "Friends of the Battleship" program. Thank you for providing these videos. I have watched many you've made of the New Jersey. You are an excellent teacher, story teller, and representative of these museum ships and I appreciate the time you take, the subjects you cover, the information you provide. I enjoy the information about these battleship's history and purpose; and also the information about the science and methodology of caring for the museum ships we have. I was recently saddened by the loss of the submarine Clamagore which was moored at Patriot's Point with Yorktown, Laffey, and preciously: Ingham and Savannah. Please keep up the good work in helping to prolong and save these ships. Thanks again!

I remeber my grandparents taking me to see this beautiful old ship when I was a kid my moms school helped raise the money to save the ship from the scrap yard

It's a shame they decided to entomb Mikasa like that. Sad to see the last pre-dreadnought slowly crushing itself. Also really hope we can restore Texas nicely. Both her and Mikasa are incredibly significant as the last of their kind.

"That's the only reason I'm down here...". Smiles like a kid in a candy store. Sure, Ryan. 😂

12:55, hey look, there's Al. Haven't seen him since kayaking in the Tampa Bay area a few year back. Good to see him doing well. A couple years before meeting Al, I went on a week long summertime motorcycle tour of Alabama, Yorktown and North Carolina. (Obviously the ship museums, not the states, since Yorktown isn't a state. Also I'm using my Mt. Pleasant mousepad from my visit to CV-10.) Between Alabama and N.C., the N.C. had a beautifully maintained exterior with a relatively recent camo scheme and the deck was spectacular. Between the two BBs there were areas available for self tours in one that weren't allowed in the other, so I got a good look at many spaces. Battleship Park (USS Alabama) also has the USS Drum, a Gato class submarine, and a aviation building and external displays. It was a good day. Patriots Point (USS Yorktown, CV10) also has the Sumner class destroyer USS Laffey (amazing story of survival all on her own), USS Clamagore, a GUPPY modified Balao class submarine, and a Vietnam era section including a riverine patrol boat and camp. It was a good day, and humbling. (I didn't know the Laffey's story before then, just amazing, and the Clamagore was in dire need of exterior repair.) Then was the North Carolina's day, on the less than inspired name of USS North Carolina Rd. Of the two battleships this was by far the best exterior display. (From what I remember, about every 10 years they repaint the camo scheme to a different one that was used during WWII.) Since this only had the one, glorious machine, I was able to spend much more time upon it and any of the other ships of my week long tour, and it was a very good day. It truly was a great week. Motorcyle and heavy metal, how can you beat that? (And I had no desire at all, during that week, for a pickle.)

I like the idea of the ship floating as apposed to sitting in the mud, But I also understand the cost of towing and dry docking. I like the idea of building a cofferdam around New Jersey and placing Drydock blocks under the ship. This way you could pump out the water and the ship would settle down onto the blocks, Basically giving the museum the ability to drydock in place anytime you need to. After the repairs are complete just pump the water back in and the ship is floating again. Might need a system to circulate the water so it doesn't get stale. and the cofferdam would provide a walkway for visitors to view the ship from. Also future drydocking would not effect museum operations.

Everytime i go to wilmington i go on this battleship and it never gets old!!

You should also interview the curator of the North Carolina.

Excellent video Ryan and thanks to the battleship NC team!

Happy to see these marvels of engineering preserved. Thanks for your hard work!

Fascinating, and thank you for what you do to preserve our naval history

Well, you have to maintain something to preserve it for history. The last time I was at USS NORTH CAROLINA, she was floating but needed a lot of hull work. I think she'll look good after the water is back in the dam system, and the work Had to be done to preserve her. When Dad was in the Navy, as an enlisted man (with a family), my parents sent a little money every month to save North Carolina from scrapping. That doesn't sound like much but if you looked at what an E-5 earned in 1960, it was a lot of my family's budget. Yall Take Care, John

I would like to thank you for doing such an in-depth set of videos on the BB55. I have the pleasure of seeing her most week days and walked the deck a few times.

I'm so glad this was done. I've visited her many times!

Thank you to you and all those in North Carolina preserving these wonderful ships.

Wild idea: Make a concrete barge as if it were a floating drydock, build a frame-by-frame support system inside to replace hydrostatic pressure, sink it in a real drydock, float the ship into the cradle, seal up the concrete barge, pump it out, and then float the whole barge with the ship inside. Keep a pump system in the bottom of the drydock-barge to dump the water out. If you keep, say, a six foot gap between the barge walls and the ship, you could section by section retract the support frames so you could repaint the sides and bottom of the ship, then screw them back into place after their paint dries. You could afford to keep the original (or fiberglass replica) screws on the ship, then.

This reminds me of one of the potential long term plans for Iowa on the LA waterfront in San Pedro. The most ideal plan would have a "small" channel created for Iowa a few hundred yards away from her current home. Her new home would basically be a dry dock where she could float freely and when needed it could be drained and it would serve as a traditional dry dock.

You all are doing a great service to these vessels that have kept those colors flying in this great country. Preserving the history of those who fought for our freedoms is priceless.

Thanks Ryan. Ive been meaning to get down there and see how her dam was working out. I didnt think she was that far in the mud! I knew there was a bunch at the stern, and I remember they tried to tow her out once but she didnt budge.

Visited the NC, it’s awesome. I’ve visited Missouri and so far have missed NJ during trips to the area. These preservation segments are amazing and truly a labor of love not just to the ships but the history of the US Navy.

I am very glad to hear that the USS Olympia is getting the waterline work she needs. She is the oldest steel warship in the USA. Also glad to hear about the work on the USS North Carolina! I spent many years working on the ship Balclutha, she has a doubler plate over her 1886 steel hull; so she can remain afloat. TM, retired but still interested.

IIRC, Showboat was originally using the portable caisson cofferdam technique, but they found that the degradation was bad enough to require something more. Pulling her out of the mud wasn't an option at all, BTW, because there are three low-clearance bridges that were built after she was moored, trapping her in that section of the Fear River. Thus the idea of essentially building a drydock around her was put forth. One other advantage of the cofferdam for a ship that's trapped by development: once the cofferdam is in place, you could always dig out the mud around the ship and just fill it with water, so that the ship's once again afloat within the cofferdam. (IIRC, Showboat's operators plan on refilling the cofferdam for display once the current work is done.)

Good job Ryan with this topic and your interview series.

Born and raised right here in NewHanover County where it's docked. I toured this ship dozens of times when I was a kid and now I see it almost daily when going to work. Beautiful big beast with a lot of history

Thoughts on a semi-dry/float setup such as what the USS Kidd uses in Baton Rouge? Half the year the Kidd is floating, the other half she's dry as the Mississippi's levels change. Seems to be the best of both worlds. Floating to provide support but dry for hull maintenance.

Impressed by the work you do! The museum is lucky to have you!

I was on North Carolina a few years ago. She's a gorgeous ship.

Thanks BBNJ you're a great teacher.

Thank you sir for your outstanding insights and deep dives. I have really enjoyed it over the years. Wet and dry cycles is something we deal with in civil engineering constantly. In some cases 100+ year old timber piling can last essentially forever, but once the foundation is compromised and exposed to the air, its a rapid deterioration process that ensues.

Excellent video Ryan! I was aware they were using the cofferdam but did not know it would be this extensive, and terrific, unique views of the ship!

Love your work and videos. Great job and thanks so much for sharing.

Ryan was in a good mood today, and that improves my mood.

This is fastly becoming my favorite RU-vid channel … good fucking job man … I’m in the process of convincing my friends to do a trip to south Jersey to see the bb.. hope to see you soon

Your channel rocks. And love the info on the great ships.

One of your best presentations!

Great work you guys are doing. Thank you

I'm from New Jersey..but now live in N.C. but in my born state nothing beats Big J..

What a fantastic job working on those old battleships! I'd live on one if I could!!

Did they share with you about any discoveries made? By that I mean any previously unknown construction markings or shipyard graffiti? Rings, watches, tools, etc. that may have been dropped but not recovered due to the pace of construction/where it fell?

When I was in the 3rd grade in NC, we gave our milk money to save North Carolina from the scrap heap. A “go fund me” before there was ever such a thing. Now, as an adult and a Navy Vet (USS Forrestal) I think of it as one of the finest things we ever did.

All of your Videos regading Battleships and all details to that Typ of Ship are a pleasure to see. I realy enjoy all of the information about technik and how they are designed. I rellay hope to see more of this videos next time. Best regards from Germany

Ryan, you present a great video with the facts, you do an awesome job sir.

I really enjoyed my trip to see the Alabama in 1972. I was 9 years old and very awe struck by her size. She is the only Battleship I have ever been to. I grew up in Maryland and loved visiting the U.S.S. Constellation as a kid and taking my kids in the 90's to see her. I have been to Boston to the U.S.S Constitution. Preserving these ships of history is a must. My grand father served in the Coast Guard and during WWII he was placed on U.S. Navy ships. He survived having two ships torpedoed out from under him.

Thanks for this. It is always fascinating how different the maintenance problems are for a ship whether it is underway, pier side, in layup, or a museum ship

north carolina is the only battleship i have been on. since i live in maryland i do need to plan a trip to a iowa class. i didn't know i had 2 of them not too far away until i started watching your channel. thanx for all the info you give.

I like your idea of a graving dock the best. Then you can view the whole hull.

Randomly jumping around on the channel ... man, the improvement in picture and sound, great job production! The aerial shot of the ship was lovely, and the lighting and color balance perfectly matched the host's closeup. Pro quality stuff!

Great idea to preserve these amazing ships, you should also look at how the Cutty Sark in the UK has been preserved, gives another dimension to visitors and could work for these massive ships.

There are old shipyards with existing drydocks that are being demolished to build office buildings and the like. Possibly relocating the battleship to one of these, as they come up for sale is an option. Not being from NJ, I have no idea if there is one that would be feasible for the New Jersey. The USS Salem in Quincy mass could probably do that, if the old dry dock is still unencumbered. As for restoring the hull plating. There is a process called spray welding that allows one to put new steel onto an existing piece of steel to build it back up. I'm not a welder, I have no idea how feasible this would be to restore corroded away hull plating. Once hull plating is restored, since the hull doesn't have the stresses of active service, softer more water resistant coatings should be looked at. There are epoxy coatings that advertise very long life spans. Also just adding a whole lot more sacrificial anodes to the hull as sections are repaired should help. Another off the wall thought, down the road a few decades, assuming it has been placed in a cofferdam. Here is another off the wall thought. Wrapping the entire underwater portion of the ship in what would essentially be a giant plastic bag. That would allow you to change the character of the fluid the ship is floating in. Float it in distilled water, or mineral oil, or whatever would best preserve the hull and you can get approved by the EPA. The bag would probably need to be replaced every decade or so, but I see things like that being used in tunneling to exclude water ingress.

Good to see the NC again. They took up donations from school kids to bring her home. Several years later we vacationed in the area and made a special side trip for a visit. I was 12 or so and she was absolutely the most awesome thing I had ever seen. Even several years into the project very little of the interior was open which was a disappointment. Never made it back. Ironically I've lived most of my adult life in Olympia WA the name sake city your Penn neighbor.

Ive seen the uss wisconsin and iowa when i was a little kid. Those ships were huge. I think preservation of these ships are very important to our us history. My goal is to go see all of our museum ships.

I just had an opportunity to see NC, in person, when we took the kids to Wrightsville beach... Such a truly beautiful sight to see in person. Was well worth going 30 minutes out of my way to see it in person, even If I could only see it and not go on board it, ill be back for that, one day. soon.

Just like you guys to know I travel from Australia one of the biggest kicks I get is walking on bored this history the smells the atmosphere is remarkable I’ve been aborted the Battleships an aircraft Carreras I’m so great full for the time an effort you put into this project there nothing short of AMAZING thank you

Wow an amazing amount of work for all the museum ships.

A couple things the Cofferdam will help with (from my perspective here in Buffalo with our 3 ships) is that it can also help protect the ships from exterior damage to the hull from storm surges (called a "Seiche" here on the lakes), ice pressure in winter, & floating debris. The Buffalo River has all these things & they're to blame for some of the rusty areas opening up suddenly & making holes in the hull. Another plus is that you can build a walkway onto the cofferdam for use by the public to view the waterfront or see the entire hull of the ship from all sides & this can be billed as a tourist attraction in itself for the scenic views it provides.

in 1963 Hurricane Carla caused the USS Texas to float....staff from the nearby San Jacinto Inn actually took shelter on her during the storm

Gratz on 50K subs.💥✨🌟🤝

Submarine Albacore in Portsmouth New Hampshire. Sits in a cement cradle there's no water around her and she is in good shape and the visitors seemed to enjoy being able to see the whole Hull of the boat

Love those razor sharp paint lines on the cleaned hulls!

This is a crossover I never thought I'd see!

I hadn't been to the USS North Carolina in close to10 years. Was planning a trip this summer. For a native Tarheel, its a big piece of pride.

All I got to say I was there... well today. As in the day this was posted. Yes I paid to help support the maintenance/restoration. My bucket list includes going to see the Texas and at least one of the Iowa’s. I do have a... not question, but maybe suggestion. Maybe not as much for the Iowa’s, but I have heard many of the preserved ships are haunted. This could be an interesting side story for some of these ships.

Years ago I went to see my sister who lives close to there. So of course I went to visit the ship. It was so cool I went back the next day.

I was just there 2 weeks ago amazing and such a beautiful ship

Thanks to the lection about technical details of construction of stationary place to this battleship of the United States.

I like the cameo of the alligator. When I was a young paratrooper at FT Bragg I visited the North Carolina and saw my first alligator swimming by. A treat for a kid from Newark.

I got to visit the USS North Carolina last March while on a vacation. She is a great ship. The only other Battleship I've been on is the USS Massachusetts, which I visited many times while living in RI.

So....when are you gonna do something on the Kidd, the only surviving US destroyer still in her World War II configuration?

This is awesome, I am from Wilmington!

Very good. Interesting!

Ryan you have improved so much since the start

Very interesting. Thanks. My dad served on the New Jersey during the Korean War. He suffered some hearing loss from the 16 inch guns.

Unfortunately, I think that eventually, not matter how much effort is put into ensuring that these ships continue to be able to float, the only solution will be permanent dry docking like the case with HMS victory

You need to be put overall museum ships because you are on top of your game and really care! Keep up the good work

I wish i had stayed extra day when visiting Wilmington so we could have went to see the B.NC. my friend and i were in the region for a friends wedding and we hadnt seen that area before and he wanted to swim in the Atlantic. Its a great city, so many cool things to see. We just didnt have enough time to barely scratch the surface. It was an either /or. We went to the aquarium/botanical gardens and that was a really great place.

I'm new to your channel and I must say it has really excited my interest , great job.

Back on June 14th (2021) I visited Battleship North Carolina. It was cool. I'm a Connecticut born person and I saw my first wild alligator. Looks like you may have seen the same one.

You guys need some alligators to swim around the NJ's hull Ryan! LOL!

I've been noticing around the country and around the world that most big ships on display are now in permanent dry dock. I did not realize that North Carolina was doing that. I know the Texas the world war I ship has done that. There are being very careful with that ship since it's the very last one of its kind. In England the HMS victory has been permanently dry docked for a very long time. It had taken a lot of people in a lot of money to preserve that ship. They said as much as they want to see these big ships in their natural environment you have to weigh that with preserving it so future people can actually see how we got to where we are today. The Iowa class battleships are my absolute favorite. If I'm not mistaken they were the only class of ships in the US Navy that never sunk they had damage but nothing descent any of them to the bottom if I'm remembering correctly. Thank you for saving our history and sharing what's going on with it.

In some ways Showboat lucked out - the mud she's stuck in has basically provided an anoxic environment for everything below the waterline and protected her, and she's on the Cape Fear River, which is a relatively low-salinity environment. Given how corrosive seawater is relative to freshwater, it's not hard to see how she lucked out there. Still, her conservators have to think ahead to preserve her for decades to come. It makes me beyond happy to see the work her caretakers are doing, both to preserve her and to try to give a feeling of what life was like aboard her when she was at sea, and when her crews took her to war - both in the 99% boredom and 1% sheer howling terror. Beyond proud to be a Friend of the Battleship. Can't wait to see what they do for her in the decades ahead, and to, God willing, share her story with the children I hope to have one day.

Ive always wished that these old ships could set sail again wld be cool to take a day cruise on her set off powder charges in the main guns im probably the only one that feels this way bc i know its unrealistic but a man can dream haha. That being said ive been on a few museum ships (USS North Carolina and USS Yorktown) and the amount of care they are taking to preserve these veterans of steel is incredible. Thank you to all involved keeping these Ships preserved and teaching the history for years to come

Just visited the North Carolina the beginning of July 2024. I brought my wife and 2 kids 4 and 2.5. I had a great time?

As a NC native I've very happy with how well our namesake battleship has been taken care of