[Milsurplus] A Visit to Battleship Cove

[Bob Camp]

>

Hi

One thing we sometimes overlook - It takes a *lot* of money to keep  
one of these ships running as an exhibit. The Massachusetts took a  
trip to dry dock a little while back. That gets paid on top of all the  
normal operation expenses.

There is far more to these ships than you can see on any of them. A  
fully detailed tour of just one main turret could take an entire day.  
I would *love* to see more of the ship open to visitors. I also would  
very much like to see more of the ship explained in detail. That is in  
terms of it's function, it's design, and it's history. All that costs  
money. It would attract a few more visitors, but I doubt it would pay.

I have seen a number of very good museums and exhibits vanish over the  
years. Some of them were very well run, others not so well run. None  
of them serve any useful function once they have closed. A few out  
there expand, but most seem to just hang on.

I'm glad that people are willing to put the long hard work into  
keeping these ships afloat. At this point it's either an exhibit, or  
scrap metal. There are a lot of ships that have gone that second  
route. What ever they can do to keep going is fine by me. The people  
who own the ship have every right to exhibit it as they see fit.

Bob