Marine shite

[Mr Lobster]

During the early 1980s freight traffic from the UK to Europe grew at an incredible rate. Obviously for ferry operators this presented something of a problem - too many trucks on too small a ferry. The solution was a clever bit of engineering which whilst commercially brilliant did nothing for aesthetics. Townsend Thoresen at Portsmouth sent their previously attractive Viking Valiant and Viking Voyager to Germany where the superstructure was removed, a new freight deck constructed and a now bow fitted. Vehicle capacity was increased enourmously although they did rather lose their looks -

 

ShipSpotting.com

© BRIAN FISHER

 

ShipSpotting.com

© Holger Jaschob

 

ShipSpotting.com

© Bob Scott

 

Similar happened at Dover - two of the Free Enterprise class received the same treatment -

 

ShipSpotting.com

© TEDINGHAM

 

became

 

ShipSpotting.com

© BRIAN FISHER

 

it was after sale from the then P&O fleet that the job of 'hideousication' was completed. Sold to notorious El Salam Maritime, she had her upper freight deck converted to two decks of cabins and passenger certificate increased to 3500. The result wasn't nice -

 

ShipSpotting.com

© Lakhtikov Dmitriy

 

 

Sadly in 2005 she was rammed by a cargo ship at the entrance to the Suez canal and quickly sank with a small number of casualties.

[Mr Lobster]

Also, I'm sure we all know what its like taking a car to the scrapyard. Want to know what its like taking a ship there? >>>>

 

[Guest]

May I suggest my hero's machine?

SS Great Britain.

Built.

Used.

Dumped in the Falklands and used as a coal/wool store then floated round the world to Bristol and now restored.

Thank you Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

[oman5]

I remember HMS Opportune and Otus being exactly like this for some years at the side of the M275 on the way into Portsmouth as a kid.

 

 

Dont know of they are still there or not as not been there for about 15 years.

 

 

I used to deliver to Pioneer concrete in Portsmouth years ago, to get to the plant you had to drive through that scrapyard. it was absolutely fascinating driving past battle tanks (most of them had boulders on the turret hatches to stop people getting inside) massive ship engines, naval yard cranes etc. It was the sort of place you'd pay THEM to let you work there.

[michael t]

Apologies for the thread resurrection, but just thought id post a few pics of the MV Irish Trader wreck that I finally got around to visiting today.

 

The hull is still pretty strong and sturdy, after 38 years of coastal degradation.

 

 

Onboard looking towards sea, there are holes everywhere and the metal is wafer thin at some points.

[Justin Case]

Why not buy your very own marine shite, for a mere £150,000 (less than the average house). An understandably blurry picture for you:

 

 

http://www.maritimesales.com/ABD10.htm

 

So here we have the equivalent of a marine MOT failure, sailing (?) under a Sierra Leone flag for bonus points, and a state of the art communications centre in various shades of brown for the deal clincher

 

[pompei]

Jeez, I didn't know Mercedes had built the Irish Trader

[CreepingJesus]

Sorry for the archaeological dig here, but I had to ask...

 

 

...what the hell is this boat, and what is it for? It was doing nothing very visible for a couple of weeks, in the Firth of Forth off Kirkcaldy.

I guessed exploration of some sort, but as I've no real idea and din't know where to start searching, I thought I'd pick the brains of the marine enthusiasts aboard the MV Autoshite!

[Spiny Norman]

Looks very like this cable laying ship, the "Arraial do Cabo"

 

 

EDIT: In fact it looks VERY like that ship, doesn't it?

(Engage smug mode, polishes finger nails on lapel.....)

[CreepingJesus]

I think you've earned your smug glow there! Does look very like it indeed. I was hopeful for a moment, that it might have been sent out by Fife Council to jack Edinburgh's internet and cable TV supply*, but then I remembered that it didn't seem to be doing very much while it was here. Cable laying would necessitate some kind of forward motion, which it didn't exhibit. Bugger. It was just stood down, I think.

 

*Maybe they knew somebody in Leith who was away on holiday for long enough, to run the cable over and splice it into theirs without them noticing.

[rml2345]

I remember seeing that too! Was round there a couple of months back but forgot about it.

 

 

I thought it was a dredger...

[Spiny Norman]

Spotted this today, looks like it hasn't moved in years.

 

[

[M'coli]

Bowling basin? There used to be about 13 hulks in there 20 or so years ago, and I don't remember this one!

[Spiny Norman]

Think they've cleared a few of them away, either that or they're so bad that they stay under water when the tide comes in!

It's still got mooring ropes, so it's maybe a comparatively recent addition, but I'm pretty sure it's been there every time I've gone past, and I'm up & down that road at least once a week. The postie delivered my latest Ebay purchase today, a wee Fuji camera so I was just taking a few quick snaps with it to see how it worked.

[M'coli]

It's on Google Streetview so it's been there a couple of years anyway; I used to pass the basin every weekday on my way to uni 20 years ago, and counting the hulks at low-tide was important! Also, there's a pair of clip-on polaroid sunglasses somewhere in the mud there, lost by me in 1994...

[oman5]

Thread resurrection time- simply because I only just found out about this one!

 The Black widow is a former foxtrot class Soviet diesel-electric sub, now privately owned  and moored at Strood, on the river medway.

It was open as a museum to the public once upon but is now moored pending investment. 

It's looking a bit dilapidated externally whilst it awaits attention, but remains afloat albeit with a noticeable list due to a holed ballast tank, but internally is pretty much as it left service. a few of the urbex forums have posts from people who have been out to it, the owner seems a pretty cool guy and has taken interested people out to see it.

Due to various people trespassing on it and the obvious dangers associated with doing so, he's now welded the hatches shut but is hopeful that with investment it can be restored.

I hope so-I'd love a nosey at this one.

[Richard]

I think this would qualify as marine shite. My cousin built it from examples in a book.

 

Boat3 by RichardB5, on Flickr

 

Boat2 by RichardB5, on Flickr

 

boat4 by RichardB5, on Flickr

 

On a smaller scale is this one I found a couple of years ago, hewn from polystyrene.

 

DSC_3641 by RichardB5, on Flickr

[DSdriver]

Most of these projects fail because people don't do the sums before starting. Ok so making a hull may cost you lets say 20 grand but by the time you include an engine, rigging, sails, electronics, anchor/chain/windlass etc etc you need a budget of over 100K and the bigger the hull the more the cost goes up as everything needs to be bigger and consequently more expensive. Boatyards everywhere are full of abandoned dreams.

[Richard]

My cousin did complete his one, took it round Africa and they had four children by the time we saw them again. He always planned to do without an engine but I think he ended up fitting one.

[brickwall]

Engines are good to have.

[Waderider]

Good urban exploration video on the Duke of Lancaster has been put on YouTube.