The Falls of Clyde ship

[Menehune Man]

Re: The Falls of Clyde ship

Yes Ron. All valid points. I wish it was a perfect world too.

The biggest problem is that she is a 130 year old "STEEL" hull. Rust?!
And that's just the beginning...

We're not talking a few hundred thousand, but millions of dollars.
Where will that come from?

[Ron Whitfield]

Stupid imperfect world...

...I know..., I just can't stand the thot of it taking the plunge.

FYI, she's made of iron, probably even worse for the rust factor!

[LikaNui]

Re: The Falls of Clyde ship

A Breaking News story, just posted:

Safety concerns lead to repairs for historic Falls of Clyde

The historic Falls of Clyde, closed to the public since last year because of its deteriorating condition, is getting some much-needed repairs as a safety precaution, Bishop Museum officials announced today.
The Museum, through a news release, said a company from Port Townsend, Wash., has been hired to de-rig the ship and shore up its hulls. An estimated $32 million would be need to repair and restore the vessel, which was built in 1878 in Scotland and has been in Hawaii since 1899.
The ship is currently moored at Honolulu Harbor.
Workers from Brion Toss Yacht Riggers will begin this week to remove the ship's four spars, topmasts and associated rigging, standing and running rigging, steel yards, wooden yards, jib boom, and main side supports. Other materials from the ship will be removed and the hull will be reinforced with steel to stabilize the ship.
"We decided to de-rig the Falls of Clyde and shore up its hull as safety precaution," said Timothy E. Johns, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bishop Museum, the not-for-profit operator of Hawai'i Maritime Center, which owns the ship. "We plan to eventually move the ship and wanted to be sure that it could be relocated without further compromising its condition."
The ship would need an estimated $32 million in repair and renovation work to restore it, a news release from the Bishop Museum said. The estimate was given by ship consultant Joseph W. Lombardi and his company, Ocean Technical Services. Museum officials said the ship has has suffered continued deterioration despite considerable ongoing efforts at restoration and preservation that has cost in excess of $2 million over the past 10 years.
(...)

More of the story is at the link above.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: The Falls of Clyde ship

I had to scoff recently at reading in one of the local dailies of a Bishop Museum exec stating that "the ship hasn't been neglegted" (!).
His spin, typical of suits these day's, was that blah blah has been spent on whatevers..., over the last few decades.
True, money has been spent, but not nearly enuf, and not in the right places. All that money has now been shown to have been wasted for the most part, as the restored areas are now back in disrepair or totally shot, with many more problem spots haven arisen or escalated, and the vessel is now in serious decline.
That's neglect and mismanagement.

That 32 mil. figure is far from the real amount to put her back in ship shape, and that these 'professionals' are still of the mind set of keeping her future in the water, shows that they probably don't have a real plan for a positive future concerning this most valuable asset to the State of Hawaii.

[oceanpacific]

Re: The Falls of Clyde ship

As I remember things, there was a big fund-raising effort for the Falls of Clyde over forty years ago. It seems that continued maintenance was not kept-up with, leading to the present state of affairs.

[Ron Whitfield]

That's when men were men...

...and sheep were scared!

The FOC deserves another Bob Krause. He's the one responsible in large part for the fund raising and public awareness that is probably a thing of the past.

[salmoned]

Re: The Falls of Clyde ship

Arrrgggh, it ain't a ship, any more anyway. If it can't get underway, making way, it's just a hulk. A pretty hulk, maybe, but not much else.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: The Falls of Clyde ship

In total, you couldn't be more wrong. Would you say the same about the Aloha Tower, Iolani Palace, or any other historic place?

[Menehune Man]

Re: The Falls of Clyde ship

I'm all for preserving history, if it's practical.
What a weird world we live in. Too often in my opinion "things" hold more importance than people. Sheesh! What was in the past is just that. Let's take care of the present. "And the Beat goes on"

I wish that the Bishop Museum would quit being confused with the Bishop Estate.
The museum is in a tight financial situation. Yesterday about 20 employees were let go just for money reasons.
They were all doing their jobs. The museum is downsizing to save money.
I haven't seen it in the news yet, but it'll come up soon.

[salmoned]

Re: The Falls of Clyde ship

In total, you couldn't be more wrong. Would you say the same about the Aloha Tower, Iolani Palace, or any other historic place?

Well, I'd say EXACTLY the same thing about the War Memorial pool right now. If the Aloha Tower or the Iolani Palace were on decrepit barges, yes, I'd say the same thing for those structures, too. Look, we won't be losing any history when the FoC goes away - the history IS preserved, it's only the physical hulk that will go away (and make room for something new).

[Ron Whitfield]

What new? Replace it with another Niketown?

I should have mentioned The Natatorium in that list. This is a sensetive issue for me on both counts, and man, you're really pushing my buttons with this.

Just because some can't see the benefits of teaching history with the physical pieces to see and touch, you lose an immense sense of what it really was, and what they meant. But by utilizing these old examples that are still with us properly, you will have future generations gaining a much greater appreciation for the historical aspects which are both important and very interesting. And if they can be made to function in the present, then they can partially keep up with the costs of maintainence.

Both The Nat. and the FOC have been severely wasted in their potential, post their original use. They don't need to sit idle. They can have a full life as time goes on. But it takes some perceptive minds to see the various aspects on accomplishing these things, and that's where we have the major problem.

We have so little of our modern Hawaiian island history left, it'll be a terrible shame to throw either of these dusty diamonds away.

[Menehune Man]

Re: The Falls of Clyde ship

Check this out... and please read the whole story and look at the photos!
http://www.nps.gov/history/Maritime/nhl/falls.htm

"...In 1959, the General Petroleum Co., reorganized as Socony-Vacuum (now Mobil Oil), developed new shore facilities at Ketchikan. Falls of Clyde, no longer needed, was sold to William W. Mitchell of Ketchikan, towed to Seattle, and laid up. Between 1959 and 1963 several efforts were made by Capt. Fred Klebingat, Karl Kortum, Robert Weinstein, Harold Huycke, and others to save the ship from her projected fate of being scuttled as a breakwater. In the spring of 1963, as the end of Falls of Clyde seemed imminent, a group of civic-minded Hawaiians, including John Wright and Robert Krauss, aided by funds from the Matson Navigation Co. and donations including money raised by school children, suceeded in purchasing Falls of Clyde. Towed to Hawaii by the US Navy tug Moctobi, Falls of Clyde arrived to an enthusiastic reception in Honolulu in November 1963.[15] Restoration of the vessel proceeded to the point where she was opened to the public in 1968. Remasted in 1970 and subsequently rerigged, Falls of Clyde was operated at Pier 5 by the Bernice P. Bishop Memorial Museum. Recently turned over to the new Hawaii Maritime Center and moved to Pier 7, Falls of Clyde is now the centerpiece of a major new maritime museum. Rerigged as the full-rigged ship she was when launched in 1878, restoration of the vessel continues as Falls of Clyde passes her 110th birthday..." (now 130th)

So at this point she's had 45 more years after the initial thought of scuttling and unless some benefactors step forward... that's it!

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: The Falls of Clyde ship

Thanx for the link, MM!

There was a letter to the editor the other day from a Brit (I believe) that had some great thots and sollutions to the matter, like an inflatable dry dock that has worked very well for decades in Europe, for a fraction of the lifetime costs of a ship's tenure.
This doesn't have to be a losing battle.

Bottom line of his, "don't let her go without a fight!"

Damn right.

[Menehune Man]

Re: The Falls of Clyde ship

..., like an inflatable dry dock that has worked very well for decades in Europe, for a fraction of the lifetime costs of a ship's tenure.

This is what I found.
http://www.floatingdrydock.com.au/ho...work_tute.html
A small version of what may work to address some of the main concerns.

Cool and thanks!

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: The Falls of Clyde ship

FYI - meetings to discuss the fate of the FOC are open to the public and held every Monday @ 4pm at the Clean Islands Council, 179 Sand Island Access Rd.

Be there!
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