From the March 8th Wilmington (NC) Star-News "Hull repairs on Battleship North Carolina to start next month" by Amy Hotz.
It's been 64 years since the USS North Carolina "got a good dose of dry dock in New Jersey." And that's a long time for something sitting in the water (or in the North Carolina's case, also the mud).
Battleship Commission Executive Director Terry Bragg says the ship will remain open while a 130 foot by 10 foot section on the starboard bow will be replaced.
Taylor Bros. Marine of New Bern, North Carolina, beat out other contractors from Alabama, Maine, Mississippi, New York, South Carolina and Virginia, to get the job.
Back in 2001, it was already evident that work would have to be done on the ship which had been moored across the Cape Fear River from Wilmington since 1961, and the commission decided to have the vessel removed from the mud and towed to either Charleston or Norfolk and put in dry dock.
In 2010, it was determined that the work could be done at home behind a cofferdam around all or a portion of the ship. Water inside would be pumped out and work could be done. This was done to the USS Alabama in Mobile recently and was a big success.
Saving Those Old Ships, One at a Time. --Cooter
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