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View Full Version : Discussion VIDEO: How to disassemble a full scale 1912 river boat.


Tail Spin1
Jun 22, 2009, 06:53 PM
I thought some of the boat builders here might find this video interesting.
It's a video of a old side wheeler river boat call the President that is being disassembled and moved to my home town. The video is just a preview, the full length episode is suppose to air on television this week in Europe, on a show called Monster Moves. It will air in the states on the Discovery Channel later this fall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TSVBIAMSwI

The man who bought the boat (Dave Campbell) was planning on reassembling it in a local man made lake and turning it into a hotel and banquet hall along with some shops and other attractions. The boat project has now turned into a huge controversy and has split my small town in two. The lake where the boat was to be reassembled was on city property but the city board gave him permission to place it there. We have since elected a new mayor and new board members and this new city board is denying him permission to go forward with the project. A lot of the local towns people are convinced that it could never be put back together, they look at the collection of parts piled next to the lake and see nothing but a pile of rusted metal, it's even been given the nick name "the city junk yard". I'm really worried that the lack of vision and and the unwillingness of the city board and the towns people to at least give the project a chance is going to seal the fate of this old river boat :mad: .

If anyone across the pond happens to see the episode of Mega Moves let me know what you thought of it. I am friends with some people who have invested in the project and were all eager for feedback.

Zach

Kmot
Jun 22, 2009, 08:21 PM
That video is awesome! Good luck with the project. ;)

green-boat
Jun 22, 2009, 11:17 PM
More power to him.

fooman2008
Jun 23, 2009, 09:16 AM
Where is TowBoat Joe? this would be right up his alley. Bet he would love watching the locks and stuff the stop motion. As for the President (ship) herself, want to make a bet that some stimulus money is involved someplace. They a $50K into a local movie theater that has been unoccupied (and only used about three times a year) for ten years, beautiful building but does a huge single auditorium theater in a small college town with over a dozen other screens and a population of less than 15,000?
Foo

Shaun Hendricks
Jun 23, 2009, 04:32 PM
Yeah, well, good luck putting THAT back together.

It probably would've been cheaper to buy some land right on a river that connects to the Mississippi, drege out a dry dock, insert pylons for it to sit on, float it in- let 'er set and bury it all back in with dirt. Fast, inexpensive and would make for the same convention center-blah blah. That way would be much easier to understand.

As this guy is doing it, I'd rather build a standard steel framework building and put in just some of the floors of the ship and it's accessories and make it 'look' like the President.

Did anyone else notice they tore down the old "Nevada Landing" in Jean, NV? I'm not sure we are 'in sync' enough to handle the old paddlewheel steamboat days as an attraction in this Country anymore. So this "President" project could end up being one expensive White Elephant... :)

heavyhauler
Jun 23, 2009, 10:54 PM
I have gone by there and wondered about that.