Keeping the Water on the Outside: Vac-Boxing Your Battleship

In this episode we're talking about how we test that the through hull openings are water tight.
To get your drydock merchandise:
www.battleshipnewjersey.org/s...
For all the details on drydock and to get your tickets:
www.battleshipnewjersey.org/d...
To send Ryan a message on Facebook: / ryanszimanski
To support the battleship's efforts to drydock, go to:
63691.blackbaudhosting.com/63...
The views and opinions expressed in this video are those of the content creator only and may not reflect the views and opinions of the Battleship New Jersey Museum & Memorial, the Home Port Alliance for the USS New Jersey, Inc., its staff, crew, or others. The research presented herein represents the most up-to-date scholarship available to us at the time of filming, but our understanding of the past is constantly evolving. This video is made for entertainment purposes only.

[@SwiftOnSports]

Took my mother down for a Drydock tour for Mother's Day (she loves the Battleship), and it was absolutely awesome! Getting to see another side of Big-J, quite literally. Was neat to meet Ryan too, who was gracious enough to take a picture with us. Honestly, this was a really cool experience, and if you're on the fence about it, do it. It's so worth it.

[@tundranomad]

What an awesome trip! I live in Alaska, so it would be a bit of a hike for me. But that's cool that you took your Mom. 👍

[@high633]

​@@tundranomad makes two of us. Even with that i really wanna go and see her.

[@curtismoats3549]

Was your mom the one that was able to stand upright under NJ? If so I was on that tour with you! Great tour, well worth the money.

[@SwiftOnSports]

@@curtismoats3549 hahah, that sounds hysterical! But, no... not my mom; she's 5'9. We were, however, on a tour with a BB62 veteran who served from 82-86, which was neat. And glad to hear you also enjoyed the tour; such a cool experience, right?

[@Joseph55220]

I appreciate that Ryan is so committed to preservation that he will wear a hard-hat to prevent any damage to the hull caused by his head, if she happens to slide off the keel-blocks with him under her.

[@cbhlde]

😁😅😇

[@Ganiscol]

That wouldn't buff out!

[@garywagner2466]

Called a “one curator” keel block.

[@Stan7670]

There is a battleship held up over Ryan's head. I find that amazing.

[@ozzymd1]

I agree the fact that hes calmly sitting underneath a battleship blows me away !

[@CG-zh1td]

Ryan - I stopped to chat with you on Saturday the 18th around noon as I was leaving the tour - mentioned that I had come from Oregon and would never have known about the drydocking tour if not for the KZbin channel. I wholeheartedly agree that social media has changed everything - casting the net far and wide for interest and support for the ship. Creating the channel was an inspired idea - I think you're doing a great job with it. I would also like to say a heart felt *thank you* for making all this possible - it was something I'll never forget!

[@lorddestructive]

now that i see the title i wish all the drydock videos would be made in tutorial style as if it would be normal for everyone to have a battleship at home.

[@ddegn]

What? You're not building one yourself? Ryan has been wasting his time teaching you this stuff. To be honest, mine isn't as far along as I'd like. I don't even have the drive shafts stuffed yet.

[@aggonzalezdc]

I think this should be the style for any future maintenance videos.

[@RetiredSailor60]

When I went to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to report on my first ship, USS Semmes DDG 18 in 1983 I saw the USS Salem CA 139 in mothballs.

[@MyKnifeJourney]

It's so great how you can document so much for future curators and fans. Thanks also for explaining so well too

[@manitoba-op4jx]

can you do a quick video showing the pit sword from the underside?

[@truthsayers8725]

coming out Friday! 10h drive, 1030 tour Saturday! ive been looking forward to this for a long time!!!

[@davidduma7615]

Stop poking holes in my ship!

[@howlingwolven]

Drachinifel moment

[@ravenbarsrepairs5594]

@@howlingwolven or Jack Sparrow kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYe9nX-Fe6l0nK8si=GVYk9eMO-WszcKv3

[@BrickNewton]

​@@howlingwolven That's exactly what I thought when I read that 😅😅

[@davidtriplett3057]

Channeling Drach…

[@VashStarwind]

@@howlingwolven Jack Sparrow came to my mind when I read the comment lol.

[@stevekiemele995]

Good thing you’re wearing that hard hat. Otherwise, you could be hurt if that ship fell of those blocks. 😅

[@tundranomad]

TINK! 😆

[@TWX1138]

Ryan should be seen attired in a belt and suspenders next time he talks about belt-and-suspenders approaches.

[@sudopc]

So positive pressure show leaks on the outside and negative draws air in seen through the view port but how do you rule out if the leak is internal before failing the blank? Many thanks to all the awesome folks who work so hard to preserve this ship and her history for generations to come.

[@Eric-oo8rb]

We’d call those back boxes “cofferdam”. Attach them to the hulls underwater to enable ships to weld cracks and change valves. Pretty close in concept if not in design.

[@ocko8011]

Fun fact: v-boxing one of the methods used in quality assurance of plastic lined landfills.

[@paulfollo8172]

It’s great to see how the ship is tested for watertight integrity. Interesting info!

[@floridaboz1]

I would say keeping the water on the outside could be very important.

[@leftyo9589]

pit sword is in fact single valve protection from the sea. as an IC on my first ship our pit swords sea valve was bad, and it was a very wet experience changing out the sword without being able to close that valve.

[@ddegn]

I hadn't heard of a "pit sword" before. I found and episode on this channel by that name dated July 23, 2020. Pardon my ignorance, but what is an *IC?* Thanks for adding your story. I'm afraid I don't understand enough to know how bad of an experience that would be.

[@leftyo9589]

@@ddegn Interior Communications Electrician.

[@JoshuaTootell]

He says that at 4:26

[@ddegn]

@@JoshuaTootell Thanks. I obviously missed it (or more likely I forgot after hearing it).

[@ronswinford4952]

All these videos have been so informative about the process you are going through with the drydocking. Great job Ryan and staff.

[@dannyhonn973]

Interesting what theyve come up with that wasnt around when NJ was built. I wonder what theyll come up with in 30 yrs.

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

It's pretty surprising they used hollow blanks , after thirty years I'm thinking they were probably lumps of rust . Obviously they weren't expected to last indefinitely and any requirement to activate the ship would mean removal of the entire blank enclosure . Ryan & co's solution looks a much better prospect to preserving the blanks integrity .

[@donaldkohler5381]

Took the tour an loved it and camped with the Boy scouts on the NJ oh yea tell that guy on the ladder face your ladder face your work

[@sofortwo]

Amazing that the wood can hold all that weight.

[@philb5593]

If NJ's 45,000 tons is evenly distributed across the 304 keel blocks each 4ft x 4ft block supports 148 tons, which comes to 128 lbs on every square inch of wood.

[@lifigrugru6396]

in 30 years the now new added part would artifact, i think :)

[@glennesling7000]

Always protect your artifact

[@fredflintstone8048]

Great explanation (as usual).

[@shinjiikari1021]

Thank you so much for the vids! My life goal is to construct a battlecruiser, where the knowledge you impart through these videos would be extremely helpful

[@shinjiikari1021]

Yes i do realise i am slightly delusional :)

[@asbestosfibers1325]

That is an understatement.​@@shinjiikari1021

[@Tommie_the_wrath_of_Khan]

If only dry docking had happened during summer, then I could have flown across country to get a tour.

[@robmurphy806]

I would have thought for testing the weld they'd do either dye penetrant or mag particle testing. X-ray might be tricky and too expensive for this application. But I suppose the method being used here is probably the most cost effective.

[@cirian75]

My father worked in NDT ultrasonic testing, building the equipment for 15 years.

[@sparkplug1018]

You mentioned in a previous video about the blanks that testing showed a number of the valves inside had failed or deteriorated. Does teh museum have any plans to recondition those valves as an added level of protection if one of the blanks fails in the future?

[@garyd.7372]

While vac-boxing, will you be saving souvenir boxes of vacuum? I thought you had a pre-order form on your website back on April 1 for stuff like this, but I can't find it now.

[@wesleyhales7097]

That system of coatings is hot.

[@robertgarrett5009]

Still waiting on the pitsword video you promised us when you did the video of the internal location.

[@BattleSyth]

Amazing video, even an aerospace engineer learns something.

[@MoritzvonSchweinitz]

COuld you PLEASE just hit the hull with a big hammer at different spots? I can't be the only one wondering how knocking on it would sound at different places. It's been bugging me since you went into dry-dock!

[@asbestosfibers1325]

Reasonable

[@chrisbingham799]

Ryan's the GOAT !

[@kiereluurs1243]

🥱 No SHEEP?

[@philbudne2095]

Wasn't there a leak in the blanking over a condenser? What was found in that location?

[@Vid-FX]

What a cool place to film your video.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

FLEX SEAL should sponsor BB-62.

[@rogergoodman8665]

Lol! I don't know if the Navy uses flex seal in the emergency repair kits but they should. The stuff is amazing, last year I had a large tree limb fall and poked a 11" hole in the roof. I was initially freaking out since it was still raining and water was pouring in. I remembered my sister gave me a box with precut flex seal sheets in it. I put one of them over the hole and sprayed half a can of automotive undercoating around the edges for giggles. The repair instantly stopped the leak. I was impressed and my landlord was thankful I prevented further water damage to the house.

[@asbestosfibers1325]

Flex seal is absolute garbage. Overpriced trash. I have removed more flex seal and great stuff from ignorant homeowner repairs than I care to admit. It is overpriced and underperforms. It is genuinely garbage and if you use it you are clearly super gullible and smooth brained.

[@asbestosfibers1325]

​@rogergoodman8665 it is far from amazing and your anecdotle evidence is not worthy of abject scrutiny

[@rogergoodman8665]

@@asbestosfibers1325 🤣😂

[@bigsarge2085]

⚓️

[@user-ux9my7io4p]

What about any rust/corrosion that might be under the blanks? Apologies if you’ve covered that already

[@mr.iforgot3062]

Hi Ryan! Hi!

[@Ganiscol]

Keeping the ship in shape for when the aliens arrive! 😅

[@normbond8888]

It would be wonderful to be able to have at least 1 battleship mission ready. Although I must admit that those stationed onboard would be in cramped & archaic quarters compared to the newer USN ships of today. Perhaps leaving them as museum ships is best anyway. Thanks Ryan🙏👍🇨🇦

[@SnowmanTF2]

Given the amount of downtime for short (few months) & long (up to two years) term mantence, to generally expect to have one mission ready at any time, you typically need three ships in a planned rotation. Even if that does leave you with two as an option more often than not.

[@normbond8888]

I fully understand why what I wrote is not practical for many reasons but a pipe dream for the imagination. I served on a 1940’s era aircraft carrier in the early 60’s that was no joy compared to the USS Gerald Ford so serving in on an Iowa Class Battleship today would be like a jail sentence under current conditions. Thanks for the input though SnowmanTF2 always good to hear from a fellow serviceman.👍👍🇨🇦🇺🇸

[@tomnewham1269]

@@normbond8888it wouldn’t be too bad to serve on an Iowa today. These ships were originally designed for a 2000 person crew but back in the 80’s only something like 1200 were stationed on board. If you watch Ryan’s previous videos you will see some of the compartments were not used in NJ’s last commission. Also in her last commission the bunks were upgraded to the modern coffins as they are often called. Also the ship had an ice cream machine and a donut shop so it did have some luxuries. Even one stage she had a swimming pool I think when she served during the Korean War.

[@jacrain9396]

I see what looks like pitting that was cleaned and painted over red. What's the minimum thickness of the metal before it has to be cut out?

[@fsj197811]

That blank you were showing is down to bare metal but the ship around it is fully painted. Are you going to put all 5 coats on that???

[@mr.iforgot3062]

Hi Ryan! Hi! Hey Ryan!

[@donkeyboy585]

Are the plugs made of stainless?

[@matthewdockter2424]

@0:20 I know sailors back in WWII would sometimes had boxing matches to pass the time, but were they really SO bored that they'd box vacuum cleaners?

[@shibasurfing]

What’s the reason for not using something like a helium leak detector? My first impulse (having worked on vacuum systems) would be to hook up a helium supply internally and then use a standard helium detector on the outside. Would give a lot more resolution than soapy water, I’d imagine. Soapy water is good for rough work but that can’t seriously be how you definitively test it?

[@MatthewMakesAU]

The vacuum gauge will give the sensitive measurement. The soap is only to show roughly where the crack is

[@shibasurfing]

@@MatthewMakesAU Ahhh I see. Thanks for the info!

[@mr.iforgot3062]

I am a master 12 welder first class A. Whenever I weld I use a voltage regulator to regulate how much weld voltage my welder is using.

[@asbestosfibers1325]

My dog like tortillas

[@timkohchi2048]

have those plugs GTAW(TIG) welded in by a master welder and one out of 500 MIGHT leak..

[@asbestosfibers1325]

1lroughly 7- 15 percent of in field welds fail.

[@VashStarwind]

No way man. Stick weld em all the way. More penetration

[@timkohchi2048]

@@asbestosfibers1325 not TIG welds that small, are you kidding? if those plugs are 304, or 316, using 309 our 310 can't imagine my welds failing any more that 1% IF I WAS STILL DRUNK FROM THE NIGHT BEFORE...

[@trife86]

You need to do videos with the battlefield 1942 anthem playing in the background

[@michaelsnell4034]

What are the things that look like attachment points by that box?

[@themightydropbear]

Rigging padeyes. Those blanks are heavy, so they need to be rigged into place (probably with chain ratchets in this case) and held in position while they are being welded up.

[@adrianklaver113]

I'm going to say the the pressurized air is running through a Venturi valve which creating the vacuum inside the box which then pulls the vac-box up against the box blank.

[@asbestosfibers1325]

No

[@rollastudent]

Right, they wouldn’t get very much vacuum by pressuring the box

[@adrianklaver113]

@@asbestosfibers1325 No to what?

[@themightydropbear]

It is possible that that is how they were doing it as Venturi vacuum pumps are a thing, but when I've done vacuum box testing, I've always used either an electric vacuum pump or a hand vacuum pump.

[@lxtechmangood9503]

The steel above your head by/ between the rivets looks a tad pitted!!???

[@aaronciviris]

does somebody knows if Ryan lives in the ship some days ????

[@michaelmichael5643]

The ship on dry dock is sitting on those big concrete blocs , how do you paint the space of the ship hidden by those blocks !...

[@f1reguy587]

Well using a vacuum pump, if you can get the ship into enough of a vacuum any moisture can be sucked out, but im guessing the hull sections are too large, not structurely capable of sustaining a vacuum without imploding… but this is alot of work and seems strange

[@DavidJones-me7yr]

I'm curious about the added ballast that was put in when trying to level the ship for coming into the dry dock? Was that fresh water or seawater? Will it be rinsed out and then dried thoroughly when the ship returns?

[@studinthemaking]

What brand of soap do they use to test it?

[@asbestosfibers1325]

Bird dog

[@garywagner2466]

Coast or Safeguard.

[@ravenbarsrepairs5594]

As you know where the plated through hole openings are, both inside and outside the ship, why not drill the hole on the inside and air test from there, where a failure won't let water into the ship.

[@leftyo9589]

whats on the other side of those plates are usually sea chests, etc where being able to get to it would be very difficult or impossible.

[@maigretus1]

Because that would require drilling through the *actual* *hull*, which they don't want to do. Those blank boxes are supposed to be removed if the ship is reactivated. Drill through from the inside, and you've just put a permanent hole in the hull.

[@ravenbarsrepairs5594]

@@maigretus1 No, they could also drill into the pipe just inside of the hull, and weld in a screw in bung, making future checks easier, even with the ship in the water.

[@maigretus1]

@ravenbarsrepairs5594 I consider those pipes to be part of "the hull", in the sense that they are intended to keep seawater out of the main spaces of the ship. Besides, the museum has to keep her at least somewhat ready for activation if the Navy wants her back, unlikely but still possible. I don't think the Navy would allow Ryan to drill a hole in a part of the ship that would be more-or-less continuously open to the sea if she goes back in service.

[@29boilersunderthesea99]

Wait so the blanks arent solid steel? May be a bit dumb but I assumed the blanks were solid chunks of steel not welded plates

[@MoritzvonSchweinitz]

What I don't understand is, that these boxes are welded on to seal older utility holes in the hull, right? So when air pressre testing these boxes, why doesn't the air escape through whatever the box is covering? I thought the whole point of the boxes is that they could be cut of when need be, so the hole behind them should still be open?

[@petermichaelgreen]

Because the valves are closed. It would be pretty mad to put a hole in the bottom of your ship and not put a shutoff valve on it. IIRC he said in a previous video that on several of the openings when they investigated a pressure test failure they concluded it was a problem with the valve rather than a problem with the plating over.

[@adrianklaver113]

Because they are looking for leaks in the welds between the box blank and hull not the underlying through hull openings. The box blank is pressurized and soapy water sprayed on the weld, if you see bubbles the weld itself is not water tight. The purpose being to prevent water intrusion through the box blanks and then inside the hull. There have been tests where the welds where good(no bubbles) but pressure was lost due to problems(generally valves) in the through hull opening. See segment from previous video starting here kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoHRg4B9lKl1ibM

[@rollastudent]

@@adrianklaver113 while that’s true, it would be difficult to do the first pressure test ( the reason for the test port they are checking) without it being sealed on the inside too

[@adrianklaver113]

@@rollastudent See the video segment I linked to. Sealed as the valves are closed, where said valves are not actually fully sealing anymore and are letting some portion of the air into whatever space is on the other side of the valve.

[@gantmj]

Good ole soapy wooder.

[@BrianMoore-tc2xe]

are you using an air compressor or a vacuum pump?

[@rollastudent]

Air compressor powered Venturi by the looks of it

[@timbonjovi]

Is that paint bubbling up by Ryan's head?

[@foamer443]

Looks like a rivet pattern to me.

[@VashStarwind]

@@foamer443 Def is rivets

[@ducksrgud]

I would love to visit the ship but it's just not in the cards right now

[@kiereluurs1243]

Maybe in a book somewhere?

[@KenR1800]

Is it just me or did they miss a couple of spots when they painted? The back side of the blank and the plate just above block #55.

[@rollastudent]

Probably one of the caulk seams he talked about

[@ThatGeezer]

Seems unnecessarily complicated. Should just fill NJ with water, and see if any leaks out. 😉

[@Tuning3434]

Ah yes, the USS Texas approach

[@Atstudiotrev]

Why not do a video showing the place where the pit-log was?

[@overthinkingisbad]

where do these "commonly been asked" question come from? tours? shorts? videos?

[@merlinwizard1000]

2nd, 13 May 2024

[@kiereluurs1243]

I still find those big bulky blanks disturbing, thinking of the streamline. But alright, this ship is moored for 99% of its time.

[@Quis85]

This is beautiful and sad at the same time. With all this work. It's going to cost even more money to get it working again if ever needed. By that time it will be pointless to even think about reactivating 😢. So a new Battle Ship will have to be made! 😢. I love this though. Beautiful ship 🚢

[@chad6080]

It is never going to be needed

[@kiereluurs1243]

Nonsense. These are relatively minor costs. And this kind of ship has lost its purpose, and will never be reactivated, nor rebuilt.

[@garywagner2466]

Don’t worry. Nobody wants a used battleship except Ryan.

[@Quis85]

They can be used now! They are the only thing that can take on drone with little to no damage! Amongst other things. But I just have always love the best we have ever had. And never understood why we would cancel the toys that were undefeated and badasses no one could stop. Battleships and F14 TomCat! Both we retired because of politics 🙄 smh. But as our better have does all the time. We use the obvious as an excuse. Other words the excuse we used was oh they were too expensive to maintain. Tell what ain't expensive to maintain. Yet we give money we don't have to every but our own. But it's too expensive and we don't have the money. Next day; WE SEND 500 BILLION TO ANOTHER COUNTRY! ME; WTF you just said we ain't have the money! 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄😳😳😳😳🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

[@npsit1]

I assume that you're documenting everything being done to the ship while it's in dry dock so the next people to do it will have a reference of what's what.. Unless it gets scrapped before then.

[@beefgoat80]

The next time she’s in dry dock, y’all should make New Jersey transform like the SDF-1 from Robotech. I think the kids would get a kick out of seeing her sprout legs and rise out of the water. Turrets 1 and 2 could fold out for arms, and then New Jersey has cannon hands. I suppose turret 3 will have to be on her back, pointing upwards. Ooh! And the conning tower should rise up and be able to swivel to the left and right, with two bright searchlights for eyes. Just a thought.

[@dougnorton5143]

What would be the chances this ship or any of the others would be returned to service? Seems to me we would be in dire straits for that to happen. Outside of getting the ship operational again, who's going to operate it? I'm sure today's Navy graduates have no clue how to operate machinery this old. I'm a auto mechanic with 40 years experience. Most of the 'new' techs today have never seen a carburetor, much less a distributor, and then there's two kinds of those. Just curious would that even be possible to bring the old girl back to life!

[@johnbrennan9584]

So a vac-box is a professional Food Saver?😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@THEOMD57]

My personal pount of view , put this wwII monument permanently on dry dock and solve all moisture and rust problems at once !

[@chad6080]

That would be incredibly expensive as you’d have to pay a dry dock a permanent rental fee. Steel still rusts in air The hull is designed to be supported by water, so keeping it permanently on blocks would change the structural loading and risk damage

[@chrisscullynz]

Hes a "pause talker" you cant un hear it.

[@garywagner2466]

Better than a pause thinker.

[@spikedpsycho2383]

WRAP IT IN PLASTIC

[@charlesmaurer6214]

Bubblewrap, she is a barge now not a ship able to run on her own. Like the building HMS Victory not a ship anymore but incased forever in a concrete tomb with timbers holding her up instead of water. Once great ships denied forever the chance to die in glory. Hate to say it but the Bismark and Yamato had better faits IMHO.

[@aaronhooks6258]

​@@charlesmaurer6214 They were destroyed and thousands of young men never got to live their lives in peace. Wonderfull fate. Bravo.

[@asbestosfibers1325]

Dont trust your contractors.

[@brunos6599]

I'm tired of all these ignorant conspiracy theories. Bryan isn't drilling holes in the armor of the ship because when he worked in the government cheese depot tunnels he learnt how to be very efficient on making neutrino antenas and now taking care of the ship he doesn't have to damage the ship to built neutron antennas since he is so experienced.

[@charlesmaurer6214]

Nice barge. Never to be ran again under her own power. It a true shame she will never be able to die as a warrior even the USS Constitution is sailed once or twice a year and kept ready for battle.

[@aaronhooks6258]

"Kept ready for battle " yeah, ok. 😂

[@skydiverclassc2031]

When a warship dies, a lot of sailors die with it. Is that worth the memory?

[@aaronhooks6258]

​@@skydiverclassc2031I have a feeling he was never in that position. Armchair warriors are always gung ho.

[@jimmiles33]

Constitution hasn’t been put under sail since 2011.

[@asbestosfibers1325]

This institution is better kept as a mesuem as opposed to a graveyard. Take your opinion and stick it were the sun dont shine.

[@WilliamMurphy-tj7il]

Have you ever compared the hugh brass model of the missouri in the truman library? I remember seeing it and thinking it was a machinist nightmare

[@kcinkg]

The hole truth and nothing but the truth

[@kiereluurs1243]

The hole through and nothing but the throughs.

[@kcinkg]

@@kiereluurs1243 😆 good one

[@michaelsnell4034]

What are the things that look like attachment points by that box?

[@asbestosfibers1325]

Attachment points.... for raising and lowering the box. It is very heavy.