Does the Battleship Leak? 

I just love this channel for how casual it is. It's almost as if you're on the ship and listening to Ryan talking to your group.👍

Love Ryan, as he sits in front of a bucket catching dripping water with the subject "Does the Battleship Leak?" As long as the sea water doesn't come in, I would be fine with that.

I feel there’s a flex seal sponsorship waiting to happen “I fixed this battleship, only with flex seal!”

Please never stop making videos. They've become part of my daily routine at this point!

This feels like a rare opportunity for "Yes. Battleship New Jersey is supported by the New Jersey Department of State and--just kidding [longer video]"

You could shell the collected rainwater in bottled form for lots of money. It should be marketed with something like this: "taste the battleship, feel the true power in this deck filtered pure water!" :D

0:53 Ryan seemed really REALLY relieved that there are no hull leaks.

Ryan you are stuck there the job you’ve done is irreplaceable! Bravo Zulu

I am a welder at a shipyard in Wisconsin! I love this channel and i would love to come visit and see the Uss New Jersey! Thank you for the great content.

The age old story. You have a boat and you end up spending your weekends working on keeping it up 😁

I'm amazed that the ship is leak free. A true rarity. I forgot that it would be in fresh water.

I know you've been under other ships on the blocks in drydock, but actually being able to walk upright underneath NJ will probably be a fascinating experience Ryan. It was for me when I was able to walk under Nassau, blocking out the sky like a 40,000 ton rain cloud. Yeah, it was wet down there because various sea chests and discharge openings were still active, the ship still had systems operating that need cooling water and the 'firemain' system still mostly active and charged (remembering the Bonhomme Richard fire - we were nearly as vulnerable.)

"Flexing," huh!?!? I've heard about flexing with a new BMW, but not this! You WILL be on board the New Jersey for the drydocking -- that's an order! We have to have your videos to document the planning and execution. I first visited the New Jersey in Long Beach just after it came back on duty in 1968, before its departure for Vietnam and just after I had completed high school. New Jersey was docked 90 degrees to the Queen Mary against a very large, square wharf, where throngs parked to visit both ships. The ship impressed me so much I decided to join the Navy. As a young sailor stationed at nearby Barbers Point Naval Air station, I visited it again in 1969 at Pearl Harbor after its Vietnam tour was over. My 18-month Vietnam tour began the following year, BTW, and I transferred to the Naval Reserve after returning to the States, finally retiring in 1994, thanks in large part to that visit on board the New Jersey! Love all your videos. 😜

Ryan, call "Flexseal" and see if they want to sponsor a repair.

I wondered about this issue as well, though more so on the older ships. Hopefully the funds will be be available to battle this problem before it gets too bad. I attended a dinner on the New Jersey a few years ago and really enjoyed the tour and overall experience.

Good informative video! Thanks Ryan. I hope USS New Jersey gets into dry dock while Ryan is curator and can get all the repairs she needs. Would be great if donations covered some additional restoration as well. (:

Great to hear the hull is solid. How did they prepare to protect the ship from damage (mine/torpedo/etc) in the areas with the sea chests and prop shaft seals?

You do a great job young man. Please have the conviction of your courage.

Ryan, as long as you are there, I’m sure New Jersey is in good hands. It will be amazing to see you document the ship in dry dock.

Speaking of leaks, when we would refuel to max capacity, we would have a two degree port list. Fuel would go into a void somewhere, a void that we couldn’t find. We also flooded the nr. three shaft alley once (found that leak). Had a water leak that flooded Marine birthing once (port side second deck all the way aft).

If the hull or high pressure water 💦 line broke / wasted /- you would need a bigger bucket! Luv the series! Great Job!!

It is obviously a lot of work keeping up these marvels of machinery........ Thank you for sharing your knowledge on these subjects......

It's great you explained the reasons for the navies rivet versus welding problem

Ryan, you're a legend. Do you ever get a vacation? I will try and visit the ship when I'm next in the States.

Like watching Ryan’s videos, getting better and more informative every time👍

The USS Cod just came out of dry dock in Erie, Pa and went back to Cleveland, Ohio.

Every steel ship I've been on leaks from the top down. Generally, if they leak from the bottom - they're on the bottom. Rainwater gets in everywhere: Funnels, plumbing, combing, decking. It's amazing really. The only below waterline leaks we were challenged with was through the stern tubes. Some of the steel hull plating seeps water that immediately evaporates leaving a crust of flaking salt. This is mostly from damage caused by a collision with another vessel which pulled the funnel over - the cause of another leak as the boiler room deck plate had partially collapsed causing it to hold water and rust out.

The edit to the bucket at 0:53 is brilliant.

"Does the ship leak?" It is a very rare ship that doesn't to some extent so I would say NJ is unusual in that regard. I have never served in a ship with expansion joints ... instead both of the ships I've served in suffered hull and superstructure cracking to varying degrees. At one point Caron (DD 970) had a superstructure crack forward on the starboard side reaching from the 01 level up to nearly the 03. The crack was wide enough in CIC that not only did light shine through from outside, the A/C was somewhat compromised. I heard one Chief Hull Technician wonder out loud if expansion joints might have helped with that problem. Caron was a Spruance DD, these ships also suffered some hull cracking but the Ticonderoga class CGs, built on the same hull and 1,000 tons heavier (all of it amidships and mostly above the main deck) did and still do suffer serious cracking despite major reinforcing of the hulls.

Ships art sea leak. The biggest culprit is where the propellor shaft goes through the hull. And then there is the water that gets in during rough weather. Through hulls (sea Chests) need to be serviced and will leak a little. As a museum ship, it's much easier to keep it dry. I was at a large boat show and a commercial yacht was on display, and had an outflow for the generating Collings. A little kid walked by and said "Look dad, that boat is peeing".

Thanks for another great video Ryan......hope you stay with The Big J!

thank goodness there havent been and below waterline leaks. too bad about the other water ingress, but not much you can do proactively to prevent it. without tons of cash anyway. sounds like you guys and gals are very diligent. the mighty js in good hands!

Another great informative video 👍 can’t wait to see her in person

Well explained. Nice job! 👍🏻

For leaks on joint that you can get to try automotive seam sealer or windshield sealant butyl both should make great temporary long-term repairs

The white balance is set differently on each of your cameras. That's why you get the color shift from green to pink when switching between them. If you want to fix this you can get a white piece of paper, point the cameras at the paper and set a custom balance before you shoot. That way you can eliminate both the pink and green tints. If you don't care just make sure each is set to the same balance. It looks like one is set for florescent lighting and the other is set for some kind of incandescent lighting.

I could watch an entire video about that expansion joint and the theories behind it!

A perfect, commercial for "FLEX-SEAL" !

maintaining a battleship is like maintaining a large building. The facility I work at is like a giant battleship....leaks, breaks, rust, wear....everything happens and constant maintenance is needed almost on a daily basis. The building I work at was built in 1920 and occupies a good portion of San Francisco.

Thanks for all the information, been a long time follower. Love the information, pet Trooper for me. My Beagle said, hufffsnort.

It's a miracle you guys manage to keep things as sound as they are.

You'll always get a small amount coming through the stern glands for the prop shafts .. unless those have been removed? maybe the preservation crew fancied a drink and sold the brass for scrap?

This coming spring I'm going to be in your basic area for a few weeks if you find yourself in need of some carpentry, welding or good old fasion paint work done sir. As always enjoyed the video thank you

Awesome as always

"No, the ship doesn't leak. This is New Jersey, not Texas."

I had an idea, a way to stop leaks on a ship during battle, it’s basically a metal umbrella with a rubber adhesive ends. Basically you shove it through the hole, which since it’s pointed it can be pushed through the torrent of water easily. You hit a switch, it starts to open using a spring and and let’s the water pressure push it open against the hole plugging it. Once sealed you can attach a brace of four arms and a large washer to hold it on to the metal hull around it putting more resistance against it falling off or letting in leaks. This idea literally came to me just now, I would love to know if something like this is used or not. And if it’s even a feasible concept?

Was told all ships leak water. At the hospital that I retired from the new $500 millon dollar building leaked at the basement. They actual built walls approx 15' from building consisting of huge I beams every 15 to 20' feet filled in with heavy beams. When it rained hard would open up one of the hatch doors and looked at the outer wall. Wall closest to the river looked like a small water fall with all the water leaking in. They had several pumps feed from emergency power to handle it. Worst was when water leaked thru floor into 13,200 volt substation.

Mr S. does that radio you wear have reception thruout the whole ship- doe the steel block your signal in particular areas of the NJ? btw very prophetic video- Ala Sullivans..

I miss seeing these magnificent ships at sea.

The acoustics of the space is great!

Do you guys keep some type of fluid in the side ballast tanks to maintain a reasonable draft ? Can't have her bobbing on the surface like a cork.

So hyped to one day see New Jersey dry docked

Drill holes in the pipes prior to them entering an important collection space. The water will be able to drain when needed at least not in the important places & it shouldn't build up as much either.

I would 100% watch a dry-dock series.

NEED to see more @ the suring timber. Cool.

So, how much do you think it will cost to replace all the rotted Deck and Superstructure?

Great video! Just a reminder to white balance your cameras before you start shooting! 😉

What does the lumber yard/ collection look like, different carpenter shops?

That black paint on the bottom of the hatch coaming that angles up to the bottom of the hatch opening, is that to protect the steel from foot traffic?

You know, I nice side topic regarding the shoring beams would be Buttercup Damage Control School. I don't know if the Navy still calls it that, but you can find it. That's where sailors go to really learn how to patch holes in the hull and pipes. I wish I had been able to go.

one think i like about Ryan is that as soon as he finds a problem like in this vid he gets it fixed asap vs like others who wait and a 1 grand fix is now a 100 grand fix

Is there a way to actually replace the expansion joint gasket?

I will be honest, I wish I could offer to help with keeping the ship in as good as possible shape. Even if it was something as simple as helping to remove tiles to allow for the next step in the restoration.

Hope it’ll still be open during dry dock if possible.

oooo technical stuff!

Love the subscribe now for the time decade sales speech 😊

Hi Ryan, when the New Jersey does go into dry dock will it be possible for visits into the dock to see the ship's hull? Once in a lifetime experience! Thank you and keep up the good work with the ship and the channel. Tom.

Do you have dehumidifiers that run in the ship? I would think 1. it would keep the humidity in the ship down making it so that exposed steel corrodes slower in the dry environment, and 2. it would prevent condensation forming and encourage more any standing water to evaporate more swiftly.

When they converted to Navy distillate , from bunker oil they sealed the riveted joints in the tanks with a sheet metal diaper

I'd be curious to know if, as far as the planning for drydocking goes, additional funding would be able to speed up the process? or is this purely a need to plan everything out in extreme detail

Not sure how economical it is, but for more important pipes they can blow a poly liner through it with resin on the outside of it to line the pipe.

With the price of lumber, you could almost trade your shoring timber in for a brand new battleship! lol

Can you please make a video on the Marianas turkey shoot You are the man Ryan

Something I wondered about the prop seals. It's been said that they are a known weak spot on museum ships, so much that some ships go as far as removing the props to reduce the weight on the seals and hopefully stop them from going flat and leaking. Would it be possible while in drydock to remove the seals and weld a piece into the gland between the hull and the shaft instead? Basically weld the shaft solid to the rest of the ship and turn a hole into an uninterrupted area.

Well I sure hope that you stick around!!!

I'm not sure about the New Jersey, but our ship had numerous valves along the various water lines to allow isolation and bypass due to damage. Might it not be possible to secure these valves and drain the unneeded sections of line to prevent the eventual wasting away? Given the amount of non standard wiring and ventilation piping visisible on the videos it would seem that you could probably replace the existing metal piping running to the heads and mess deck fixtures that need to be operated with PVC.

A little 'off topic' question i've wondered about is 'suttlling' a ship. In a combat situation, and the captain decides to scuttle the ship, how do they do this? Are ships fitted with valves for this purpose, or do they just set off some explosive charges?

Friend started as an ensign on a Fletcher class. He inevitably screwed up, but common enlisted cannot see a gentleman be punished, so he was sent to chip rust in the bilge. He said ge chipped theough the hull bottom, resulting in nightmares and lack of sleep for rest of deployment.

Idk if it would be allowed but be awesome to vid some of the trip to drydock from the deck of newjersey

Does the New Jersey still have its propellers? I know some museum ships remove them and blank over the shaft ports. Did NJ?

Kind of unrelated, but where would I be able to find the booklet of general plans for the ship (end of ww2 or as decommissioned). I have been looking for a while but haven't been able to find it

Just bought my teak wood and so cool

@ LBNSY, I recommended a spray coat of liquid rubber, to guard the deck from the teak. I was shot down, reason? I was told A: too expensive, and B: the teak would’ve rot.....And teakwood is prohibitively expensive.

How much spare tile do you have or is it new tile, not old stock? These are 80s tiles?

What about the seals on the main shafts where they penetrate the hull. I believe those are called citron seals. I probably misspelled that, but is there any leakage around those seals on the main shafts? How regularly are they checked? I would bet the Navy has sensors down there to alert them to any water getting in. On the carrier I was on we had one of those seals blow one afternoon and it flooded quite a bit before that area was sealed off. They had to get the crane going and reposition the after brow before people could leave the ship.

I worry about he Olympia and the submarine. There are some popular bars within walking/staggering distance. More then one young man has aimed a salty stream in their direction

With all the modifications to make the ship useless(more or lesss) is it acctually possible, like physically possible to reactivate the ship?

The "dripping" is merely condensation from the air which the dehumidifiers don't wring from the air. After all, a 900 foot ship with a beam of approximately100 feet has too many rooms to keep fans and dehumidifiers in or around. It is New Jersey after all.

Are there any issues with mud building up under the ship? I remember when they went to drydock The Intrepid they had a tough time initially moving it due to the build up of mud under her.

That does bring up the question of why it was considered a good idea to have a wooden deck pressed up against steel.

Like my Mississippi river tow boat,rust an painting are a 365 day battle.it never stops.

which of the Iowas do you think is in the best shape? I've been to the Wisconsin in Virginia and I could barely believe I was on a 80 yo ship

Really interesting

I can’t wait to see New Jersey in dry dock!!!! When are you guys going to do it (realistically)?

I would guess it is camera angle, but the side view of you, it looks like the right side is lower than the left. Is there a V shape to the floors, albeit maybe subtle?

2-TAC-115-TAC-2-TAC-L How could anyone ever get lost with such clear labelling?

Most visible at the end from the camera perspective, in the adjacent compartment on the same side Ryan is sitting against... What is the small floor level looking door/portal? Looks to be just before a step for another water tight door.

There's good stuff coming out the channel now! 😃

How often do you need to replace the anodes?

Ok should have waited for the endol