Heading to Kingston, New York

[mcgovern61]

In Kingston there was a neat little trolley museum:

 

[mcgovern61]

And of course a stop at the Maritime Museum. Cool steam engine and some steam engine models:

Real nice steam ferryboat model:

Kingston Harbor:

Steam Tug Matilda:

Sloop Clearwater:

Building a wooden boat:

Tour Boat Rip Van Winkle:

 

[mcgovern61]

Last, but not least, the PT-486. She was/is in much worse shape then I expected. Being out of the water for nearly 15 years can take a toll on a wooden vessel. But, cover her in shrink wrap and seal her up and no moisture escapes. Worse, with the heating and cooling/freezing in Kingston, the boat was like a rain forest inside. Soaking wet with fresh water (bad news). The wood soaked up the moisture and made the wood soft. This is causing all of the paint to peel and the framing is losing it's strength. Screws pull out and the boat is collapsing under her own weight at the poppets supporting her out of the water. I was significantly disheartened. :crying:

Can it be repaired? Of course! But the money needed to perform that type of rebuild exceeds my budget by about 2 million dollars.

 

[mcgovern61]

To give you an idea, here is the port main engine in 1979 versus today:

My bunk in 1979 versus today:

The same area in 1982 versus today:

 

[backlander]

Interesting trip, sorry the boat didn't work out Gerry.

 

[mcgovern61]

I took this photo to verify something I discovered through Navy photographs from 1944. The boat was taken out of service in 1944 and was being converted for a top secret project. The only published information is that she was going to be used as a drone vessel to deliver something somewhere in 1945. Never got any more information, but there was lots of speculation it was to deliver a large type of bomb to be blown up in Okinawa. Unmanned vessel delivering an large bomb to be exploded with no crew? Wonder what kind of bomb that could have been? Only know that it was being done at the same time as the Manhatten Project.

Same area today:

Do not compare the hatches (square verses oval), the oval one does not belong to the boat. It was added in by one of the previous owners to make access easier. It is only the frame of a hatch that was located elsewhere. Again, not original to the boat.

If you look at the old photo, you can see where the cribbing is bolted in to the main framing. If you look carefully in the last picture, you can see those bolt holes are still there proving this is the same boat.

 

[brianinpa]

:crying:

What a shame...

I can't believe that tent site is a KOA. Normally KOA's are a little more groomed and don't have large bushes next to the site. Personally I like it when you have a little more privacy rather than wide open spaces.

 

[Ansimp]

Looks like a great trip Gerry even if it was a little disheartening in the end.

 

[mcgovern61]

Some more pics of the condition of the framing and interior:

 

[slabghost]

Looks easier to build another one than to attempt fixing that one. Too bad. Another great piece of history has been left to rot.