Grand old ship...new life?

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I don't see how that makes any sense. You could build the ship from scratch for the same money.
 
Originally Posted By: hatt
I don't see how that makes any sense. You could build the ship from scratch for the same money.


Yes but it's part of history. And it's recycling!

John
 
This is an interesting project. This ship was meant to cruise at high speeds day after day to get people to their final destination.

Current cruise ships are meant to entertain fat drunk people who could care less where they were going as long as there were some interesting stops along the way and the bar stays open.

Today if people are really going somewhere they hop on a jetliner. It will be interesting to see how this develops. This is especially true because our government does not want anyone to do the kind of work it will take to get this ship commissioned, again.
 
Its a nice notion but I don't see it going anywhere.


Modern cruise ships are floating hotels for fat people. This ship was built to transport people...so her running costs will be very high.

Speed on the water costs money, a lot of money. Passenger's these days have no incentive to pay for speed.


After WW1 the coal fired ocean liners that didn't sink, like the Lusitania were quickly removed from service. They simply cost to much to run, and burned to much coal.
 
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I knew it was the United States before I even read the link.

Its definitely a piece of history worth saving, and honestly I can't believe it hasn't been done yet. As for 'you could build a new ship for the same money,' that's not true. The technology is gone- a ship as fast as the the United States couldn't realistically be built for ANY amount of money (short of what it takes to build a nuclear aircraft carrier) today. The powerplant alone, unless you powered it with a reactor, is a lost art.

That said, I don't know if it would ever be practical even for 'high end' cruising. Norwegian Lines did that with the France for a few decades (renamed SS Norway) until a major fire a couple of years ago put her out of commission for good. But the only way it was practical was to essentially cut her power in half and her speed by 2/3 or more- they pulled half the boilers out, and removed 2 of the 4 shafts and associated turbines and gearing to make it more practical as a putt-around-the Caribbean cruise ship. If you did that to United States, there really wouldn't be much point because her uniqueness WAS the powerplant.

The biggest similar loss I know of was the Enterprise of Midway fame. The most-decorated ship of the war, turned to razor blades in the 50s because nobody had the foresight to realize just how significant a part of history it was.
frown.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Pontual
Ok, it was quick for the 50s, thst was what, 20kt? Today theyre doing 30knots or more.


Her record speed for the Atlantic crossing was 35 kts and her lifetime average was 30 kts. Won't find any large passenger liner today that's faster.
 
Originally Posted By: hatt
I don't see how that makes any sense. You could build the ship from scratch for the same money.


You missed the part about it being an historic ship.

With that in mind...why bother spending huge sums of money to restore old cars? You can buy new ones for the cost of some restorations.

Besides...it's a private endeavor and if this company decides to do it, it serves at least two purposes.
 
Originally Posted By: Danh
Originally Posted By: Pontual
Ok, it was quick for the 50s, thst was what, 20kt? Today theyre doing 30knots or more.


Her record speed for the Atlantic crossing was 35 kts and her lifetime average was 30 kts. Won't find any large passenger liner today that's faster.

I just looked up the Sea Princess and the service speed is 21 kts.
Maybe something like the United States could be a round the world trip specialist?
 
Originally Posted By: Pontual
Ok, it was quick for the 50s, thst was what, 20kt? Today theyre doing 30knots or more.


41mph/35.6knots was her speed for the record crossing (as noted by another poster).

She had 268,000HP.
 
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: hatt
I don't see how that makes any sense. You could build the ship from scratch for the same money.


You missed the part about it being an historic ship.

With that in mind...why bother spending huge sums of money to restore old cars? You can buy new ones for the cost of some restorations.

Besides...it's a private endeavor and if this company decides to do it, it serves at least two purposes.
It's not historic enough for a company to spend upwards of a billion $$ totally rebuilding the ship and then having less than what they would have if they started from scratch.

And you comparison to old cars may be close. Every time I watch an auction I see beautifully rebuilt old cars with modern features lose money when you add up the costs. People work on old cars because they love it. Corporation don't risk hundreds of millions getting sentimental. I suspect this is nothing more than a stunt to gain publicity. But if they can do it I wouldn't mind seeing the old girl back on the open water.
 
Originally Posted By: Pontual
Ok, it was quick for the 50s, thst was what, 20kt? Today theyre doing 30knots or more.


Its fast even by today's standards. No modern cruise ship could even come close speed wise, [censored] a Nimitz class is closer in terms of performance, than a modern cruise ship.


She has the propulsion system of a battleship or at least a fast cruiser, a modern cruise ship has probably half of the shaft HP.

That sadly will be her downfall, speed on large ships costs a ton of money, no one other than the Navy can afford 30+ knots.
 
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I eat lunch across from this ship now and again. Pretty, too bad it's peeling. I think the QEII only cost around $1.2B new, as comparison for a high end cruise ship.

It's a neat concept, and I'd consider a cross-ocean trip. The problem is that it IS 10 days at sea. But outfit it so you can stay connected, have fun, and enjoy nice amenities, and the "upscale retiree" market may make it work.

One would think that the cost efficacy of the concept has been thought through. Sea keeping may be an issue and that hull may be rather thin.
 
Originally Posted By: Pontual
Ok, it was quick for the 50s, thst was what, 20kt? Today theyre doing 30knots or more.


You've got this completely backwards.

The SS United States was very, very fast.

She was built for speed.

And she was far faster than any of the floating hotels filled with fat people you see on the water today. Most of them would be lucky to hit 30 knots, some are much slower, while she could hit over 40 knots.

She crossed the Atlantic at an average speed of over 35 knots, crossing in 3 days and roughly 12 hours, going both east and west, establishing a record that stood for 40 years.

The turbines she had were the same design that were installed on Forrestal-class aircraft carriers. Those engines were carefully designed and chosen to make her the fastest ship on the water. When the US Navy wanted their newest super-carrier to be fast, they looked to the latest technology and the fastest ship in existence: the SS United States.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_United_States

You really don't let your complete lack of understanding keep you from expressing your opinion on a topic, do you...
 
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Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: Pontual
Ok, it was quick for the 50s, thst was what, 20kt? Today theyre doing 30knots or more.


41mph/35.6knots was her speed for the record crossing (as noted by another poster).

She had 268,000HP.

Which would be like 18,000 gal/hr in gasoline equivalent!!!
It would make an expensive ski boat anyways...
 
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
That speed isn't all that impressive. Heck...a WW2 (even giant Saratoga) carrier would touch 15 knots.


???

Where are you getting your numbers?

An average speed of over 35 knots, sustained all the way across the Atlantic, is far faster than anything in World War Two. Or anything today, for that matter.

It's top speed was over 40. That's truly a ship built for speed.
 
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Ahhh, the joys of the always argumentative Bitog forum!

I enjoy history. I also see a lot of importance in saving much of our history...wether it be buildings, ships, airplanes...or whatever. It's part of who we were and are today.

Regardless of the costs (who cares...not my money or yours) or even the motivation (once again...who cares), a restored and functioning ship such as the United States, is a really good thing.
 
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