The Hardware Store for Museum Ships: Where We Get Our Spare Parts From

In this episode we're talking about how we acquire spare parts.
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.

[@redrick7369]

A Deli operating on board would be the most New Jersey thing ever.

[@k.r.baylor8825]

That sounds like something to take up with the Navy on the next time the museum contract is discussed. Put out an estimate on how much revenue an on-board deli could generate for the museum, and I would hope that line in the contract would then be removed.

[@ibubezi7685]

Make it into an AirBnB - have it staffed with hospitality students, as a learning experience - in summer, breakfast out on the deck. But yeah, probably even Putin has to sign the red tape before they will ever allow that 😉

[@da.freiberg8012]

It already has weekend overnight stays available for groups. It’s a great experience, I highly recommend it.

[@squiblift2019]

You're not only helping restore the battleship to its 1990 configuration, you're preserving pieces off of other naval ships that will never get an opportunity to become a museum. Glad you got the two meat slicers.

[@anthonypuccio9575]

You are correct, it's better to have a door open with nothing or little in it than closed and have people wondering what's in there.

[@cruisinguy6024]

I would absolutely prefer to walk by a completely empty room with an open door than a room with a closed door blocked from the tour. Of course it’s better to be fully restored but as you said nothing or little is better than closed.

[@tomhenry897]

Put a skeleton dressed in a navy uniform in there

[@gildedbear5355]

An extra perspective: even the empty room tells a story. What things DON'T stay on the ship when it leaves active service?

[@bebo4807]

I wonder how many skeletons are in these abandoned ghost ships Ryan is exploring.

[@poowg2657]

I'm sorry but all I can think of is what Don Martin would do for a cartoon: First frame, ship pulls up to the dock and crew disembarks. Second frame, crew returns to find ship up on blocks by the dock missing the screws , rudder, half of the hull and all of the upper works. Great video Ryan, thanks much!

[@deanieedwards8117]

😂

[@justdeaf-ry6bn]

Sir, the engine is missing too. Lol

[@t1m3f0x]

What make's this even more funny is that Battleship New Jersey is currently up on blocks, and all thous parts are going onto her.

[@LoPhatKao]

could see the panels as you described them used to buy Mad and Cracked all the time

[@robert506007]

Really didn't seem like there was much of a robbery Problem in the Navy Yard when I was there.

[@gregbrown4009]

While the drydock of USS New Jersey is monumental, I am having far more fun watching "The Worlds Happiest Museum Curator" soak this all in. What an amazing experience!

[@robscott8834]

Ryan, this window into the thought process that you go through to provide thoughtful experiences on the New Jersey is brilliant. Museum ship curation is as much creative inspiration as well as historical research, engineering, and science. I have never before thought of how much goes into telling the thousands of small stories that a museum ship or any military museum must tell to be successful.

[@Adamu98]

Granpa was a cook on missouri. He described it perfectly in his stories before he died. When i visited the ship, the galley was exactly how he described. It was the most soreal moment in my life.

[@mattmaple7032]

That’s awesome dude

[@randyjohnson2794]

My wife had a bit of different experience - she was all excited because the soft serve ice cream machine was the same as the one they used to have at McDonalds! Great for you to actually see behind the stories!

[@steveanderson9290]

@@randyjohnson2794 I LOLed when I read this. You can be absolutely sure that the ones on any Navy ship or installation WORKED, ALWAYS!

[@simon-d-m]

Your excitement explaining the 'phone book holder has really made my day. Brings back memories of calling my mum from a (British!) red phone box at the rail station, to tell her my country bus had got me that far, and could she please come get me! That smell of extremely stale cigarette smoke and damp concrete... Ryan, you are a gem.

[@REMIREZZ]

Ryan, this has got to be one of the best videos you’ve made. Every single video shows how much you care about the ship, but this one really proves that you care about giving people the experience. I love how you let the historical nuts know there is some flex and it’s all about getting people through the doors and talking about it and it’ll become perfect later. I can’t imagine the immense work you have to do everyday to make New Jersey what she is, but BZ to you and the team!

[@richardgreen4567]

Don’t forget mops and brooms, blankets,pillows! Sheets! Medical supplies!

[@gowdsake7103]

DC wood, firefighting hoses, emergency cables, even torches and axes. Oh and 2 TICs

[@johndougan6129]

Not mops, swabs. 😂

[@frankbarnwell____]

Painting supplies. Brush and rollers!

[@phillyphakename1255]

I like your comment about walking past an empty room everyday and being a little bit embarrassed, and using that as motivation to restore. I know it worked for me when I had similar restoration projects.

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

It's certainly an experience on a dead ship especially if there isn't any temporary lighting . Always a mixture of sadness ,especially if you worked on it , and delight if you find the right items you are looking for in good condition to give your ship something badly needed .

[@ranchero50]

After doing what they did while active, the old ship smells were memorable. It was hot and dark work with most breakers having LOTO tags hanging.

[@AvisGrant-mu1hc]

Post office stuff. We had to write a letter and wait 10 days for an answer. Paper, envelopes, stamps or franking stamps.

[@KnightRanger38]

Note that when deployed, the time between mailing a letter and receiving an answer could be even longer.

[@donaldlubin9479]

When Ryan pulled out that binocular case, it looked very familiar. Turned out that my step Dad brought back something from WWII that looked just like it and gave it to me. I had not used it in many years but I decided to pull it out and compare it to the one Ryan had. Unfortunately, mine does not say ADMIRAL on it. It is, however, a Mark 28 like the one Ryan has. It does not have the Mod.0 designation after the model number like his has (Maybe that's the Admiral option!). Mine is a 1944 model. The case is a Hood model B8. It appears that Ryan may have the same case from the looks of it. Both the binoculars and case are in pretty good condition and appear to be complete. Too bad I did not get any history from where it came from.

[@DriveI65]

This is an old Navy tradition.I was in Boston Navy Yard in 1969 when our ship was being refit and we went to one of the warehouses that had items removed from decomissioned ships. We loaded a pickup truck and traded the gear to destroyers and other ships in port for what we needed. IE: Rack lights for coffee from a destroyer and grain alcohol from the Naval Hospital for coffee. etc...

[@johns1039]

Wait, Corpsmen had alcohol? Shocking. (Wink.)

[@garywagner2466]

Grain alcohol for coffee?! I’m coming over to your house.

[@x7104x]

Thanks for helping us better understand your role as a curator of a national treasure!

[@whatever8282828]

I'll be fascinated to see that deli meat slicer someday to explain why it was so heavy. The ones I see in shops and on that one Seinfeld episode seem clearly not too heavy for one man to carry. So these navy versions must be something!

[@sirarnie9837]

If you ever finish working for the Battleship NJ, it would be great to see you do videos on all the various museum ships around the country. You'd have endless content.

[@keab42]

The payphones and charge machine are a fantastic pick up.

[@phillipbouchard4197]

You may already have restored and equipped this area but I would like to see the signal flag area as my Dad was a Signalman 3rd Class on the U.S.S. Boyd DD - 544 in W.W. # 2. Thanks for all you folks do.

[@ranchero50]

From my time on the Halyburton, bug juice machines with random colored juice every day. I remember the bread cutter and covered dispenser. Napkin and salt / pepper dispensers sliding across the floor were memorable.

[@stgcusnret]

Stuff I found important:(In No particular Order) Rack Light, Privacy Curtains, Rack Safety Strap, Bookcases for reading material (kind of like the take one, leave one concept) Post Office......Clocks, Irons.....Every ship I was on had an exercise room (weight equipment, treadmills).

[@ET_Don]

Ryan, your enthusiasm makes me want to seek out a full time staff position on a large museum ship, and spend the rest of my days restoring.

[@muskaos]

The "pay phones" on the Kitty Hawk were called Sailor Phones, and you used phone cards to pay for talk time. I used them a couple of times between 1996 and 1998 until the ship computers were upgraded to allow for email. Modern ships still had them in 2014 when I retired, but not many.

[@bobbenson6825]

I know it's inevitable but thinking about you eventually moving on to a new gig is very depressing. You've done such a great job opening up the ship and its history and this drydock sequence is just the most recent wonderful example.

[@jamesgascoyne.7494]

I think your idea is correct Ryan. Throw the doors open. Also if an item fits the part but may be out by a couple of years, it's still better to have it than it be the perfect fit. The perfect fit may never turn up. Be good to have the phones working so people could call home an say "hey I'm plcalling from BB62". I for one would love too do that.

[@iansinclair521]

I'm in the historic house restoration game -- and I completely agree with your approach to interpreting things.

[@ChuckinOhio]

Love your quote: “best is the enemy of good enough “.

[@sparkplug1018]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe when you did videos about the gym and laundry spaces the crews built, there wasn’t any equipment there. It would probably be great to get some “near enough” equipment and restore those spaces. Both to show the kinds of things the sailors did to boost morale, but also shows the human side of the crew. But damn Ryan, this is a cool haul

[@Leap1A]

I have been fortunate enough to have toured the "Show Boat" Battleship North Carolina several times and The Chapel always intrigued me for many reasons. I hope that the Battleship New Jersey has It's Chapel intact so that tour groups can see the spiritual part of military life exists even on the high seas.!

[@jhs8496]

Beat-up, red, roll-around tool chests and cabinets in the engineering spaces. An ashtray full of Winston Light butts, a can of potato sticks from the geedunk, and a cup of hell-bent-for-leather black coffee for the HMFIC's chair in the engine control room. BTW, Its a pleasure to see a situation in which the right guy is in the right job.

[@ginog5037]

I like how you get so excited going to a boneyard Ryan. I do to!

[@jeffhoward9186]

As a visitor, there are two types, those that have not served and have no idea what life was like and is a great learning experience. Or those that have served and live that life style. For me, as a retired sailor, (Dessert Storm and Iraq Freedom), if I visit a ship, active service or retired service, it’s more like a trip down memory lane which could bring on flash backs to times when something good or bad happened. Either way, I am glad that you are doing what you are doing with the ship and the videos that you produce on KZbin. I may not visit New Jersey, just because of the flash backs that occur in my life. I wish you all the best and for others, please visit New Jersey. It will be an experience that you will learn how sailors live and work onboard our country’s Navy fighting ships.

[@72polara]

I went on a strip trip to the Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay for parts for the Red Oak Victory years ago. It was quite the experience, something I will always remember. It is an eerie feeling to be on a dead ship with some compartments completely ransacked and others that looked like the sailors just left. We were able to load up containers that were lifted with a crane and taken to the dock for us to load in our trucks. So, when you guys visited the Red Oak, some of the radio equipment was stuff I helped to get.

[@KanalFrump]

Absolutely excellent custodianship. Kudos to Ryan & crew. Fantastic level of passion and attention to detail. Seems like the ship is getting forever younger and more fit every year thanks to the tireless work of these people.

[@mikezimmermann89]

Yeow! 76 years old here (23 in reserve military service) and Ryan has just made me painfully aware of just how much history I’ve LIVED through! Not only do I remember pay phones, phone books (and standing in line to use them), but I even remember beer vending machines in barracks (they didn’t last long).

[@jamesgarman4788]

Don't forget to get plenty of sound powered telephone jackbox caps! I'm sure there are a bunch missing, and if you don't already have some, the early 1990's coke machines! We had them on our ship.

[@iwantmyvanback]

Went to USS Hornet this weekend. Was looking to see how many of the "Biscuit Wrenches" were still onboard. Surprisingly, most of the brackets I came across were filled. Even if they were loose and able to be removed, good to see people haven't pocketed them all.

[@iwantmyvanback]

Also, not sure if this has been covered in a previous video, but could the phone to "call home" be used underway, or was it reserved for when the ship was docked and hooked up to power/water/communications?

[@tomhenry897]

Then had to hook up when docked Knew a guy that was his job His only job on ship Hooked up the chiefs so they had their own phone

[@johnnyfair]

I remember all the "extra" stuff we relocated to the ocean floor while underway. USN 1984-1988

[@jeffmauldin4299]

I love how he is so excited about what to us would be mundane items or equipment. Seeing those items on the ship wouldn't trigger a reaction necessarily, however Ryan understands that their absence would go noticed

[@jaoswald]

I like the insight into the curation process, the concept of "period of interpretation" being a specified date, and the compromises in the realization of it in the ship.

[@greenbriar07]

The phones are a good find - somebody somewhere has one of those mammoth phone books stashed in the attic!

[@rogerlatta7027]

I served on a Knox class Fast Frigate in the early 80's. No phones on board and we could only call home when we got to port. Mail was the main way to communicate, and we received mail during most refueling onloads and but that was usually old news. Thanks for the videos I enjoy them.

[@notpurple]

i agree, OPEN UP THE SPACE fill it later. pay phones are great. so are bread slicers. i love the post office stuff too!

[@loyalrammy]

Ryan, I think you need to represent a small office space filled with guys sitting on desk tops or standing, chain smoking. You need the Navy issued aluminum ashtrays. This space was also our ET duty station underway and so guys would congregate with the guy on watch when they were off duty. This was the 80's and before, Navy culture which I believe you are trying to represent on the ship. Also, you could play Star Trk: Next Generation on a loop in the berthing compartment, which was extremely popular on my ship in '87 and '88

[@AndrewBalanda]

since you mention bulletin boards, find some examples of messages received over the teletypewriters printed on rolls of paper, cut them and pin them up. I was in Army Air Defense in the 1980s and for units that were widely dispersed, the most common way to distribute routine, administrative messages was by teletype over the tactical radio network. Sometimes the message that printed out on the rolled paper would be cut into strips and photocopied onto Disposition Forms, or DFs. Other times the strips would be pinned up straight from the teletype. The Navy at that time must have been doing something similar.

[@amywolfe6100]

What's sad is that you even have to have an expectation that people will steal items form the ship. I've been on so many ships in my life as a civilian and it never even crossed my mind to take something that isn't mine. Just very sad that is where people's moral compasses are today!!

[@phillyphakename1255]

Eh, its been humans moral compass for millenia. We are a social species, we like shiny objects, we like physical memories, we like history. It sucks, but it's natural.

[@crazybarryfam]

@@phillyphakename1255I wouldn’t say it’s the norm when it’s not the majority.

[@denniss5512]

Haven't seen you happy for awhile. Yes, more Strip Trips videos!

[@rogerb3654]

This is a GREAT video. I would enjoy more of these, "What we get on 'strip trips'...."

[@uncommon_niagara1581]

In a video about 2 years ago Ryan talked about one where they went in the hold of a ship and came away with thousands of blueprints and assorted WWII era parts. Unfortunately, they were only able to scratch the surface of what was there before they ran out of time. Would have loved to have seen that one.

[@HighlandSteam]

In the Royal Navy in the 80s and right through the 90s ships had card payphone. I have installed, wired and maintained many of them when the ships were in dock in Portsmouth.

[@roadsweeper1]

Ryan, don't ever mention leaving New Jersey again!!!! You arent allowed to lol. You are by far my favourite museum curator, for any of the ships, and New Jersey just wouldn't be the same without you. You're going to retire on board her lol.

[@ChuckLiebenauer]

These videos are the next best way of seeing the ship if you can’t travel to see it in person. GREAT Job! Thank you.

[@p.a.reysen3185]

Many of those 'missing' parts are just down the coast being used on the Kitty Hawk which is being dismantled. The Carriers being sold for $1.00 when they have the ability to provide civillian rescue services in Hurricane aftermaths. While in Bremerton PSNS, the NJ was our parts store, only open after 0030 to 0400. One might be supprised at the amount of parts that went from the BB to a CVA's Engineering Stores. Thousands upon thousands were saved for our drydock when we were berthed alongside the NJ.

[@aserta]

The costs would outweigh the problems. I know it sounds like a good idea, but these ships rely on the Navy's maintenance to work. From day one, they were built with that in mind. They're not like civilian ships in that respect. And that's without taking into consideration that military ships were never intended for mass civilian use, they're completely out of bounds with what's normally allowed and safe. And i know some people would say "screw regs", "screw safety"... but that's not how things go. They have their reason, however annoying they may be. It's not lightly said that they are written in blood, it's true. Imagine if the ships had an issue, much like the museum ship that sank, with those civilians on board... i don't even want to think about how many would perish, because all i have to do is look at purpose built ships and the number is already too high. But back to the costs, the cost of cleaning and making it usable would not allow the ship to survive. You're better off buying a dry dock ship, yeah, a dry dock ship and putting it near the land with medical containers on board. That, would be safer... which is saying a lot.

[@tidelovinyankee1368]

Thank you for the effort you put into the New Jersey as its curator. I grew up in Rhode Island and spent many days on the Massachusetts in Fall River. I also got to visit the North Carolina and Alabama. It is so important for the public to see these ships as they were during their service life, and your efforts are most appreciated. The Lexington, here in Texas gets a good number of visitors, and that is my go to ship when we go to Corpus Christi. Thank you for your fine videos and the work you do for the public, and especially for me, an old former Marine.

[@trevortaylor5501]

This guy has the best job in the world!

[@faithfloyd4480]

Pay phone booths and telephone books, I suddenly feel old 😂. Thank you New Jersey for sharing. I love your videos and I love that you are preserving our history.

[@davidkennedy3050]

You are almost as excited about the phone book stuff as Steve Martin was in his movie "The Jerk".

[@gator1959]

I can remember as a young boy visiting the USS Lexington CV-16 at NS Mayport. I was super impressed when we were given warm fresh baked biscuits from the galley. It's too bad the NJ isn't allowed to do something similar in the galley areas of the ship. I am sure you could find numerous volunteer veterans who were Navy bakers to run the program. I'm guessing any food served on board is catered from local restaurants.

[@Mariner311]

Interesting - on the FFGs I served aboard - we didn't get payphones on board until 1995 - you had to go ashore to make a phone-call - for that matter - pagers were HIGHLY restricted. I was aboard Kitty Hawk in 1996-97 and that was the FIRST time I saw phones that could be used while at-sea. Called home to Dad mid-cruise to wish him Merry Christmas from The Persian Gulf. I get a HOOT hearing you wish you could make the Galley operational - as an Aircrewman those where NOT my spaces, but on two Perry Class frigates I deployed on - the Mess Chief rigged a small area - for the Aircrew to make box-lunches for our flights and our OWN little fridge space. I think of your Strip-Trips like our DRMO trips for "used" DoD gear for an air detachment rather than trying to buy new. What I would like to see - POLISH that danged SeaSprite you have - it would have NEVER been allowed to get that faded.

[@muskaos]

I was with you on that 1996-1997 cruise, I was on Kitty Hawk 1996-2000.

[@aserta]

I would imagine opsec was a nightmare for the higherups.

[@Swiat34]

I think it’d be great to see a personal locker/closet for enlisted, Chief, and officer filled with what they would have had and where it would have been. Uniforms, civilian clothes, hygiene bag, towel, etc. Make one space for each grade look like someone still lives there.

[@happyhome41]

What a wonderful (another !) video. The things we don’t think about - open our eyes.

[@themetalmaiden7462]

I have 4 1980's Long Beach/South Bay area phone books for you and I'll bring them with me on Saturday morning to the dry dock tour. Your wish will be granted.

[@TheEvertw]

I would love to see berths full with sheets, blankets and pillows. Clothes. Personal belongings. Books. Photos of sweet hearts and family. Pinups. Shaving kits.

[@andreasherzog2222]

Phone books etc.: I'm an old man and wouldn't give it a 2nd thought. But I've seen videos on YT about teenies not having any clue how to use an old phone with a disc dial. So YES, bringing these things from the 90s back is a great experience for the younger half of your visitors ;)

[@davecaron1213]

I recently saw a behind the scenes KZbin video where a well know actor had to be shown how to use a dial pay phone for a scene, incredible!

[@tankman7711]

Long story short, our data storage center was attacked, everything shut down but the cell phone dampers and only way to contact the Emergency Response Team was....gasp...use a phone book. I was the only person in that building that knew how to use both the phone book and the landlines. Two weeks later the company paid me overtime wages to spend a week of teaching the staff how to use a phone book and the landlines correctly. They realized it had become a lost art. Funny thing is, our data center had just gotten several local phone books dropped off by a company and the staff had laughed and said " These are worthless, only good for starting a bonfire with!" Little did they know how valuable they would become!

[@everjello]

Ryan was super excited about a phone book holder. How awesome!

[@kevinrasmussen8734]

We would spend a lot of time in our division lounge and I think the public would like to see that. Couches, chairs, TV, tables with card games, chess/checkers boards, magazines and books. A bulletin board with notices including a watch-standing list.

[@elijahwerner6130]

I've got quite a soft spot for seeing the phone equipment restored and interpreted. My dad was a phone man for 45 years, much of that time in Longview, WA. Some of his work involved connecting and disconnecting the phone systems for the ships at the port. He was there in 1990 when New Jersey visited Longview and took me to see it while it was open to visitors. I was only 9 years old, but I already had Antony Preston's book on battleships and was able to get it signed by a few of the crew.

[@peteroleniacz4432]

Would have loved to have a couple battle laterns from my ship USS Deyo DD-989....lol

[@douglasboyle6544]

As a GenXer and one of the last people to experience the military before mobile phones, in particular smartphones, became widespread I think having the payphones on exhibit is a fantastic idea.

[@randyogburn2498]

The help I could have been with my tools & some strong backs to carry out whatever I could detach.

[@Notta_Mechanic]

This is one of the coolest videos you guys have put out! To me at least. I really enjoy seeing items not in circulation on public tours or being refurbished for such a purpose. Thanks you Ryan and the rest of the team for your amazing job keeping the ship in such great condition. I hope to visit some day. Keep up the awesome work! ~ Cheers from Canada

[@brentclark3627]

Thank you for your support making the ship better

[@zerostarx1]

When it comes to finding a phone book for that holder, the Library of Congress has the "U.S. Telephone Directory Collection" and there is a pretty good chance they have a phone book from Long Beach in the late 80s to early 90s that might already be digitized.

[@uncommon_niagara1581]

The printing cost for a one-off, 1000 page book would rival the cost of the drydocking.

[@phillyphakename1255]

​@@uncommon_niagara1581 not really. Theres a growing trend for publishing, especially self publishing, to be done on low run machines. There's fully automated machines out there which will spit out a book on the other end, all you gotta do is upload a PDF. Not cheap for a book that big, but not 10 million dollars, either. Maybe 100 bucks or less? Yeah, a phone book will be cheaper, but to put a finishing touch on a great piece, totally worth it.

[@zerostarx1]

@@uncommon_niagara1581 Its less expensive than you think. There are plenty of small print shops and services that would be willing to do very low run, and its how some movie production companies doing period pieces get their phone books and other printed props.

[@rearspeaker6364]

@@uncommon_niagara1581 Probably a LOT more!!

[@aserta]

@@uncommon_niagara1581 You wouldn't print the whole thing tho. Just get a binder to bind you the covers and a few pages. Not everything needs to be real. Placeholders are good enough. That said, you can find these old books online. Plenty of people have them for... acceptable prices.

[@seniorchief79tlc]

A kid in a candy store!!!😂 You really are the right spirit to preserve and polish a great American legend. I got to do the same thing for the USS Agerholm DD826 in 1973 from the mothballed destroyers in San Diego. First time I got to see a trough toilet. After that I thought my modernized WW2 can was a luxury yacht.

[@lostiburonesoffroad4x4]

Ryan, you are accomplishing your goal. I visited the Ship on December and I felt I was in an active waship. The feeling is incredible. You feel that in any moment you can run into Halsey or Spruance😂. I was on Intrepid too and you feel in a museum, is good , but the feeling on Uss New Jersey is an other story. Great work of all involved. I hope to visit again soon.

[@johnyewell4363]

That payphone card dispenser thingy: build an interactive “call your mom” payphone experience! Borrow (or buy as a souvenir) a card, fill it with real money at the card machine, and call your real mom from a real payphone on a real battleship, just like an old-timey sailor. You could even simulate some authentic analog static and satellite delay. That would be a small but steady income for the museum, a fun experience for the whippersnappers among us who have never used a payphone or any non-cellphone, and we should all call our mom anyway.

[@MrAntonicus]

One thing I would like to see Ryan discuss, is the plausibility of the ships guns using shells equipped with ramjet technology. The reason I bring this up is because if they did reactivate the ships, that's what might make them potentially viable.

[@jimcat68]

This is a great video for several reasons. First, I appreciate your honesty in saying that some pieces are going to eventually get stolen from the museum. It's not a pleasant reality, but it is true. And you need an inventory of spare parts to keep up with that attrition. Mentioning the three Perry-class frigates reminds me of how quickly the mothball fleet is disappearing. Just last year, there were about a dozen of them in the ship basin. I'm sure that even those last three will be gone before too long. But there will probably be parts to be salvaged from the Ticonderogas! I agree with you and the fellow commenters who say that it's better to have a space open and partially restored than closed off and inaccessible. As long as it's safe for people to visit, let them see what they can. And yes, I think that the perfect is the enemy of the good. Finally, your admission that you're not going to be the curator of New Jersey forever was a bit of a shock, though it shouldn't have been. Everyone wants to move forward in their career, so why shouldn't you? I do hope that you stick around long enough to make many more videos, and that the next curator will want to follow your example!

[@tonygawel9]

The Navy and other Branches also used MARS phone patches to allow family members to phone home while overseas. I have family member who ran phone patches for our service member in Vietnam and aboard ship.

[@CruiseControlVideo]

I remember listening to those when the USS Midway was off the coast.

[@AlmostThere197]

Looking forward for my drydock tour

[@KevinT3141]

You're a fabulous curator Ryan. I never considered any of this type of equipment when you said you were going on that strip trip.

[@RarestAce]

Hopefully you guys got some cool stuff from the strip trip. The crate full of phones was a good score

[@GABABQ2756]

Uptake hoses for Hoses for P-250 pumps.

[@miketreffinger7525]

The small butt cans on the end of the racks. Was on my tin can in the 1980’s but not on the newer ships I served into the 2000’s

[@jeffmauldin4299]

I love how Ryan said he wants the ship to appear as if the crew just left and were somehow sneaking on board lol

[@uncommon_niagara1581]

What is the etiquette on who gets what? Is it first come first served, or is there an agreed upon hierarchy?

[@phillyphakename1255]

My guess is a bit of first come first served mixed with a bit of trying to convince a fellow curator that you need it more when you see it on their pallet.

[@garywayne6083]

Plunderdome!

[@davelewandoski4292]

Ryan please don't leave New Jersey!

[@TheEvertw]

There isn't much he can be promoted to! Perhaps Old Ironsides, but that is about it. Though I don't know USS Constitution even has a curator, as it is still commissioned.

[@user-xe3kd2jk6b]

We recently toured the USS Silversides, and seeing the (decommissioned) 'bathroom' was eye opening. 70 men in an enclosed space with a toilet that had something you could barely call a door was eye opening. And nostril closing.

[@stewarttrains98]

I was in the navy in the mid 90s and i remember that prepaid phone. On the ship I was on, it was located in the ships library. I do remember that it was quite expensive to use.

[@BillHamblinn]

Love this stuff. Great job, Ryan. We appreciate you.

[@swathdiver489]

Ford and Elrod were commissioned in 1985 and Kauffman in 1986. I visited with each ship right after commissioning in Port Everglades.

[@robertbeaty4909]

As we used to say, "Any port in a storm"

[@bobroberts2371]

Source for old military electronics: Fair Radio in Lima Ohio is closing June 28th, 2024 with an auction scheduled for August 15, 16, 17 This is a 50 year old business with endless piles of equipment.

[@russellhltn1396]

And quite a bit dating back to WWII, although I have seen newer stuff.

[@tomhenry897]

Middle of a 10 million dry dock not time to go shopping

[@russellhltn1396]

@@tomhenry897 It's closing. It won't be there when the drydock ends.

[@bobroberts2371]

@@tomhenry897 There are always Ham radio guys willing to sift through goodies.

[@bobroberts2371]

@@russellhltn1396 I'm betting on Ham radio guys would be willing to go shopping.

[@Daniel-S1]

Thanks + I like that you are getting your hands dirty to get stuff for a living museum.

[@davidduma7615]

I remember, years ago, you made a video about emergency power and biscuits and I thought, "those biscuit wrenches are going to get pilfered". I say, you should violate your oath of authenticy and find a way to bolt them down.. And how many of those yellow battle lanterns have you lost?

[@aserta]

You don't even need to bolt them down, could just simply tie them down with thin fishing wire. Put some super high tensile stuff in there and most pilferers will give up. Kinda like that saying "locks keep people honest"... because you can pick just about every lock that's ever been made... Plus, the fishing line is almost invisible in the right light.

[@CruiseControlVideo]

I say get some JBWeld so makes these items a lot harder to lift.

[@davidcyrilbrown]

I think personal items make a museum interesting. I volunteer at an old mine, I operate the steam winding engine. We have the original wooden bench used by past operators. Its from 1840, make the engine room look more interesting

[@iceslayer777]

Another great video with wonderful stories told in a timely manner. Really can’t wait to come out and see this ship, especially since I’ve never been to or seen a dry dock in-person. Keep up the incredible restoration work!

[@AbrasiveCarl]

Great work as always Ryan!

[@user-tc3fm8yj7u]

Maybe tack weld the tools that can be stolen.... great content and seeing this great piece of history so well preserved

[@Alex-Richard-yc6wg]

Television sets in the berthing compartments.