My wife got my chunk of the deck framed! It's not covered by glass so I can still touch it. She's the best!❤

Now I'm wondering, "How many curators wide and long is it in that space?" GET IN THERE RYAN!!! LOL

Actually, only the stern tube bearing uses lignum vitae wood strips as a bearing surface. They must be submerged at all times as seawater is their lubricant. Where the shaft enters the hull, there is a stern tube seal packing gland at the end of the shaft alley that keeps the seawater out. All of the lineshaft bearings right up to the thrust bearing and reduction gear box are plain journal babbit bearings in a sealed pedestal housings. Each one has an oil sump and a pair of bronze rings bigger than the propeller shaft on either side of the journal bearing. When the shaft rotates, the bronze rings rotate and their lower portions are submerged in lube oil. This action brings oil up to grooves where the oil pours by gravity into the upper half of the journal bearing. There is no oil pump, just oiling rings on the propeller shaft bearings in the shaft alleys. Oiling rings are a foolproof reliable setup. Sometimes in the shipyard, we were required to measure the load that each propeller lineshaft bearing carries. The upper housing is removed, a jack with a scale is put under the propeller shaft, and a dial indicator is put on top of the propeller shaft. As soon as the indicator moves, the shaft has been lifted a few thousands of an inch up, you record the weight. If it falls within the specs, the bearing is properly loaded. If not, the shims on the housing are changed to put it within specs. I hope this helps.

As soon as I started this video I knew what it was about. I took Ryan's dry dock tour last Saturday and he took us under the ship and explained all about this patch and the extra bearings. If you have the means you owe it to yourself to take a dry dock tour with Ryan. I drove from Chicago to Philly and stayed at a discount hotel just so I could take the tour with Ryan. When he says this is a once in a lifetime event he is not exaggerating. Ryan in real life is exactly who you see in his videos. When we got to the part of the tour where the dock workers were pressure washing off paint he honestly stood in awe for several minutes. He then said he could watch them do that work all day. This is truly his ship, as much as any captain who commanded her in the past. If you go get him to autograph your hardhat, I saw several people to that and I missed the opportunity. :( ... TLDR if you can in anyway afford to take Ryan's tour DO IT!!! I am honestly considering going out there again. If you all don't all sell out May 25th I'll go and take both Ryans and DRACHINIFEL's tour.

I hope you guys had a photographer on site to take "historic pictures" for the next generations to pull up on their virtual mind tablets when the curator logs in the IntraTube and posts a video about the molecularly stable kept Battleship New Jersey museum.

Always interesting to see the differences between ships of the same class. As Dr. McCoy said - "engineers love to change things".

If it were me, id be cracking open those panels and getting a close look inside. Its gonna be the only time for the next 2-3 decades, best not miss it.

So many bearings were subsequently lost that we now have the Bering Sea.

Lusitania had bad vibrations too. I'd read somewhere that they eventually noticed that the period of the vibrations was four times the shaft rpm. She originally had 4 blade screws and they concluded that as each blade spun up towards the hull it sent a shockwave ahead of it that vibrated the plating like a drum head. They added bracing to stiffen the stern and switched to 3 blade screws which decreased the frequency of the vibrations. These fixes helped but never completely fixed her vibration problem. New Jersey's inner screws likely vibrated more than the outer ones because of the 5 blades and their being positioned more directly underneath the hull.

An Iowa out of the water has gotta be something chock full of surprises - just so long as they’re only the good kind of surprises!

A shorter shaft = a different resonance frequency than the longer shafts.

@3:14 - Lignum Vitae is one of the heaviest, most dense woods known. It was used to make hammer heads back in the day. One other thing about that wood - it sinks. It's so dense it absolutely cannot float.

I had no idea that wood qas used for bearing material and has been used for maritime applications for over 100 years. Pretty neat stuff.

When the shipyard guys said "keel coolers," I immediately thought, "left handed screwdriver" 🤣🤣 I had to stop and look it up.

I went aboard New Jersey when she visited Yokosuka in 1969 (she was in service hitting Vietnamese targets). One of the most beautiful ships I've seen (I'm a Navy brat). Those long, sloping, slender lines are incredible.

Ryan is definitely daring something to add those to their model.

Ryan I just want to thank you for hammering out a video on this wonderful ship every single day it's been in Dry Dock. you really are new jerseys MVP.

Maybe they found proof that Kilroy had been there.

I really appreciate you posting all of these details about the ship. It adds a whole new dimension of understanding about both them and the many men who made them work so well.

At my hydroelectric plant that I work at we use lignum vita for our wooden turbine bearings

I was on a ship that used Lignum Vitae in the stern tube but it also used it in the hull side sea chest grill hinges as bushings.

My thought is to remove those panels and replace with new ones without all the holes, perhaps a single hole for inspection short of full removal. A hundred bolt holes is a hundred potential leaks and rust problems down the road. Fix it right while you can instead of another bandaid. You don't want NJ to face the next one looking like TX did going in. Make sure to reclean for painting too. It might be cool to replace a few of those through haul openings with an armourlight type glass for underwater lighting or a scuba tour of the haul as part of a class that doubles to keep up inspections. Might even get Seals to do it as part of training. By inspecting her haul they train to place charges on other nations hauls.

My friend and I saw the New Jersey last September. Sadly, we missed seeing Ryan by about a half hour. I was impressed by the amount of the ship we could see just self guided. It seemed like work is ongoing to open up even more of the ship. I really liked finally being on board after watching these videos over the years. (The new teak on the deck was looking fabulous too!)

To remove cosmoline from your battleship, first, set your drydock for 350 degrees...

Thanks Ryan!

every time ryan introduces himself, i fist pump while shouting his full name coz he's about to teach me all kinds of cool shit. let's gooooo!

Another interesting naval history linkage to Lignum Vitae is that John Harrison, inventor of the clocks that won the Longitude Prize, used that wood as a self-lubricating bearing in his earlier clocks like the H1 (which weird as it was was already accurate enough to have claimed the prize)

I am really enjoying these videos. Thank you Ryan!

Thank you for this video. I really appreciate the time you, Ryan and everyone has put into her.

Awesome, thanks Ryan 🙏🤠🇬🇧

It is always crazy the stuff that is done on a ship. I am always amazed that more of them do not sink. I do want to hear more about the armor, thickness of the steel on the sides of the ship. Thanks Keep up the good work

Fascinating bit of history.

So Wise , Thank You

the Navy started putting holes in the hulls to flow sea water through the bearings on the victory ships. That is where that practice started. It worked well, and was implemented on many other navy ships like the Iowa class.

Thank you, keep working.

Fascinating nerdy stuff! Thumbs up!

It's quite interesting history thank you for caring so much for our heritage

I need to see what's inside. This is such a rare chance to get photos and video from that space!

I haven't heard the term cosmoline since the 70s when all of the guys who worked at Bethlehem steel would take it and paint it on their chrome bumpers and trim for the winter!

Fascinating!

Amazing engineering that went into these beasts!!!

Nothing like new diaper panels to keep your keel fresh. Thanks, Ryan!

"you can remove this panel to access the last coupling" that makes it sound simple, yet I bet those bolts are very stuck and would probably need to be torched out. And there's alot of bolts.

Great find!

Fascinating.

Starboard side inboard propeller shaft was still leaking water as of 4/20/2024. If anyone is on the fence about doing the drydock tour.... DO IT! I was a little disappointed that I couldn't walk in the Holland Tunnel but, still worth the time/expense.

putting ship on blocks is ultimate "open and inspect"

Mil-C-16173 Type 2 is a soft film wax based liquid, quite like LPS-3 (available in well stocked hardware stores or online). Cosmolene is MIL-C-11796C Class 3, and would be rock hard after 30 years

Love these videos Ryan!

Keel Cooler sounds like shipyard "Blinker Fluid"

Now is the time to begin the Space Battleship New Jersey Project!

I wanna see some of these New Jersey models that people are putting together now that Ryan is sharing all this new information!

The vibration being worse on the inside shafts is probably due to resonance. The length of the propeller shaft changes the frequency it vibrates at and in turn that frequency syncs up with the vibrations naturally occurring in the hull.

Great video with lots of discovery's! Just curious, among all of the hull penetrations below the water line, have you found the penetration for the pitot meter (speed sensor)?

One of the best storyteller 😊

Got my model ready to start. Might have to do a few mods.

Great content as usual.

So cool!

The wooden bushings you speak of here, sound like the wooden bushings in a combine harvester's straw walkers that throw the straw out of the rear end of the harvester, the bushes used on the straw walkers are dry and can last years.

I'm currently building a 1/200 scale Sharnhorst , but the big Mo is my next project. No holes in the dock keels.😊

This is really cool!

Any time I've been around a dry-docked ship, albeit much smaller, I've always been impressed by the looming mass over my head. Your shot here nailed it. The mystery is nice, but until you've been under a ship of such dimentions and size on the blocks, you have no comprehension just how truly massive something capable of manouvering at 25-plus knots really is. There's "wow", and then there's Iowa-Class WOW. If you have any change left over after this, I know HMCS Sackville and Haida could use some drydock time as well...not hat-in-hand, but hat-in-hand. Canada's glory deserves similar royal treatment! Fair winds and following seas!

when i get a model, ill add this detail for sure.

I can't imagine how scary it would be to be the workers that position the keel blocks!

Great video...👍

Navy: it’s not a bug it’s a feature

Its the blades chopping into different flow/turbulence. It was the opposite on North Dakota class, and lots on this if read on the B36 with it's 18 ft three blade props.

Oh I am putting especially since I got to see it.

This makes me want to see the BB at full speed...the trials must've been awesome!

This is detail I need. Yes, I will incorporate this into my 1/3 size model of the new jersey...

Thanks Ryan, I REALLY want to see this Battleship reborn as it were. Brought back into fighting strength to the modern standards and leading our fleets into the future! They certainly cant build them like they used to can they!!!

Vibration depends on the resonance. Resonance occurs when the structure length is a multiple of the wavelength.

I worked on prawn-trawlers out of Darwin in the early 90s. One skipper sent me spelunking on my back through the bilge of an old wooden boat, half way down it's length to get to the final joint of the tail shaft, with bits of fish guts and old diesel in my hair as I crawled my way though a space so small my nose was getting flattened going under the bulkhead supports. It would have been nice to have a maintenance hatch like on this ship.

I will definetely add this to my personal Iowa. Wish me luck in conquering sealand.

Ryan, you are a national treasure! Thank you for doing what you’re doing! I grew up in jersey since I was 4yrs old till I moved to Florida last year at age 53. Each time I watch one of your videos I get to learn more about the big j. I never had the chance to go see the New Jersey when I lived there hopefully next time I go back I can go see her. God bless you & thank you very much😁

So it came like that from the factory, Mr. curator! Seeing how it is, you guys are back where the thing was built I’m wondering if it is too late to put in a warranty claim?

They put bitumen in bilge keels and spaces without access to prevent inside out corrosion. Likely the oil substance you are seeing.

Greetings from the BIG SKY.

Would love to know about the thrust bearings that transfer the propeller trust to the ship to move it forward.

Found the battleship's speedometer?

A serious journey of continual discovery.

Oh, I thought that it might have been the top secret mini-sub port? 😁

Does the flooded space in there extend the whole height of the skeg, or does it stop at the visible plating seam?

Ryan, do the propellers on the battleship cavitate at full speed? If so, is there any damage on the propeller surfaces?

“Keel coolers”?? Sounds similar to the “pad eye covers” we used to send new guys looking for on the Eisenhower

Would really like to see a photo of that block of lignum vitae. It's a very rare and expensive wood, as is ebony. It must be huge

Ryan how do they paint the hull that’s resting on the keel blocks?

Amazing what shoestring work that takes place.

When my supercarrier was in drydock, I climbed to the very top of the mast (13 stories from the dock) & went down into the drydock & walked under the keel. It's really not that big of a deal, but not many people can say that. I had no life when I was a kid.

Ryan, I understand you're under the ship right now but I have a question about the top side. When did the Navy strip the Measure 22 "Deck Blue" from the decks and go back to natural teak?

The bearings are probably acting as a flexible coupling that dampens the vibration. Quite ingenious to be honest. Might be worth opening up and checking if it is still good, once in 30 years and better not let stuff pass!

Hey Ryan, what's that block attached to the bottom of the hull over and above your left shoulder with the eyebolts on and around it? Curious.

I will probably add this detail if i ever build a model of USS New Jersey!

Lignum vitae is also used for the bails in the game of cricket.

It's a mounting point for when the BB62 becomes a full scale model in some rich gal's front yard,

I do marine painting and the number of times i have had to talk to a boat owner about random leaks out of Tanks, Voids, or other parts of boats when liquids should be staying or shouldn't have gotten in the first place is shocking

Access ports are nice but if they aren't needed, weld it up. Corrosion from the outside in is typical and easy to deal with. Corrosion from the inside out usually spells doom

Can you walk down into or access the skegs from inside the ship ? Was the vibration ever solved ?

whats going to be done to seal it up? is a doubler plate going to be added over the holes?

I think it might be a secret compartment for sentient ninja dolphins.