Dambrosi, as much as I think that having her designated a National Monument would be to her benefit, I too would love to have the opportunity to sail on her simply for what she is. Converting her to a national monument would more than likely remove such an opportunity. The Foundation is committed to having her be a "floating" National Monument, meaning that she could go from port to port more or less as a traveling museum. Whether or not the average joe could hop passage aboard her is not altogether clear, but it is hoped that it would be a possibility. At any rate, it would be a tragedy if for any reason she were to be scrapped.

Just remember, you'll never see millions of people around the world clamoring to save ANY of their ships. So there.

Yeah, it's a shame about the Atlantic and Premier. I never got the opportunity to sail the Atlantic, but my parents did, quite a few times at that, when she was still a Home Lines vessel. I think that was probably one of their favorite ships. They seemed to like her a lot. As a matter of fact, I'm rather disappointed that Home Lines no longer exists, because they were my parents' favorite line for many years. They seem to be a bit partial to Costa now, although they still like Princess quite a bit as I do.

www.ss-united-states.com

[This message has been edited by Joe at PwC (edited 02-07-2000).]

P.S. The site for the SS United States Foundation is http://www.ssunitedstates.org

Thanks
Great Site

I'll give you all a sneak into what the tentative plans are for the ship structurally. The Lifeboats will be lowered to the Promenade and sun deck, instead of the Sun Deck & Sports Deck. Two new decks will be added to the Sports Deck and Bridge Deck, similar to what they did to the Norway. These two new decks will contain balconied suites, but will look very nice, with large, flush, sliding windows which open up to the sea, but with no railings. The actual Bridge will be raised to a higher deck and extended a bit more forward, basically a new Bridge will be constructed. The aft decks will have a nicely tiered effect like the liners in the old days, similar to how the Normandie looked, but with a much more futuristic design. There will be some wonderful straight lines and angles built into her new superstructure, with kind of a fifties look. There will be a wonderful lounge aft, on Bridge deck similar to Verandah Grill on Queen Mary, but of course very modern, with large windows looking aft. There will be much more usable open deck space. Even with the new decks added, the funnels will still be very imposing, and maintaining her Ocean Liner look. Her whole superstructure will have a raked look, especially forward overlooking the bow.

The ships function? There are still some details I cannot reveal, however, the Big U would be broken up into about 10 different departments onboard. Two departments would be for Cruise passengers. The passengers would be broken up into two major section, "Ultra First Class", with large balconied suites and the the most advanced, upscale luxury available on any cruise ship, and completely separate from the other passengers, making this part of the ship very exclusive. Then there is the "Cruise" Class, which would be for the more mass-market cruise vacationer. The ships passenger capacity would be lowered dramatically so that she would only carry about 800 passengers. The rest of the ship, (about 65% of her space) would be designated for other uses completely unrelated to the cruise vacation industry.

She would still maintain her four screws except state-of-the-art variable-pitched propellers would replace the original design. A trim tab would be added to her Rudder to give her slightly better maneuverability. Thrusters will be installed at the bow. Two large Stabilizer fins will be added forward of midship. Parts of her engines, gearing, and boilers will be updated with more advanced technology. What can I say, the Big U will be a "Supership"! She will have the speed when needed. She will be a world-class vessel that will represent American ingenuity and pride. She will travel the world's oceans, and not be limited to the Caribbean. It's that 60% of the ship's space that I can't really tell right now, but I know that all the fans of the ssUnited States will be happy with her usage. Hopefull things will go smoothly with my meetings with investors and contacts. Let's all hope for the best!!

This one of the powerful propeller shafts on the ss United States, taken by Barryboat during an inspection visit.

[This message has been edited by Barryboat (edited 02-25-2000).]