She's About to Get Wet Again...

[parallel]

Link to story

Workers began removing the huge glass wall of the National World War II Museum's Restoration Pavilion, the first step to take PT 305 back to the water.

Project Manager Bruce Harris said there were no words to explain his excitement.

Volunteers have been working on the boat, saying they wanted to give back to veterans.

"Just to repay the veterans who of World War II," explained volunteer Tim Divincenti.

PT 305 was built in New Orleans at Higgins Industries and launched in Lake Pontchartrain in 1943. The boat was deployed to the Mediterranean and sailors painted two small Swastikas after they sank two enemy craft.

"She conducted 77 offensive patrols on occupied coastline," said National World War II Museum Historian Josh Schick. "She participated in two major invasions. She inserted and picked up OSS Operatives, she escorted convoys, she attacked German shipping."

Much of the original vessel remains.

"These panels are original, the bulkheads are original, we'll be able to restore all this," said Project Manager George Benedetto in 2009 as he looked through the nearly ruined boat.

After World War II, PT 305 became a tour boat, an oyster boat, and was rotting away when museum volunteers began a $3 million restoration in 2009.

Over the last seven years, a series of Action Reports aired on the boat, and Eyewitness News viewers from across the area have made donations that have made this restoration possible. Now that the boat is about to launch, that's expensive, and she's expensive to run.

"The cranes, and everything else," explained Harris. "Even gas."

Friday PT 305 will be moved out of the pavilion during a big party, and Saturday moved to the river, to be towed by barge to the lake. In April, they plan to carry passengers on high speed rides.

"It gets me giddy even thinking about it," Josh Schick said with a delighted laugh.

UPDATED: Today this happened.

PT-305 Move Video 1

PT-305 Move Video 2

PT-305 Move Video 3

PT-305 Move Video 4

PT-305 Lift Onto Barge on the Mississippi River

 

[Rintimtin]

Very cool indeed

 

[shouldazagged]

Splendid project. I'm delighted to see that being done.

The men who crewed those boats had to have serious cojones.

 

[parallel]

Splendid project. I'm delighted to see that being done.

The men who crewed those boats had to have serious cojones.

Speaking of those men... this is the first crew of the PT-305.

 

[loknload]

Outstanding!

 

[parallel]

Rafting down the river like ol' Huck Finn...

Down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, through Lake Borgne and the Rigolets to Lake Pontchartrain and into the Industrial Canal for Coast Guard testing. After that she'll go to the purpose built boathouse on Lake Pontchartrain where the public will be able to take deck tours and even book rides of the boat on the lake.

 

[Comrad]

That's a very interesting paint scheme designed to make shape, speed and direction difficult to determine. The bow and stern colors identity the boat as a friendly from the air.

Looks like a couple nice M1 carbines in that photo.

 

[DeathGrip]

Nice boat! It even looks fast sitting still.

Some things like that deserve to be restored. Kudos to the guys that made it possible.

Thanks for the post.

 

[muddocktor]

I had gotten a bulletin from the museum about this a few days ago. We went last year to the museum and saw them restoring the PT-305 in the restoration building and it was seriously cool. As a matter of fact, if you go to New Orleans you really need to visit the WW II museum there as it is really a nice museum consisting of several buildings with lots of exhibits and history of the Pacific campaign and also the ETO.

 

[JohnRippert]

I would LOVE to take a high speed ride on that. Feel the engines through my feet.

 

[Deuce Caboose]

Remembering a time when the boats were made of wood, and the men were made of iron...
God bless the greatest generation for their service and sacrifice they endured which saved the Republic.

 

[soFlaNative]

All I've seen of these craft was from the movie PT 109 and McHale's Navy.
The boat made one heck of a lasting impression.

 

[parallel]

I would LOVE to take a high speed ride on that. Feel the engines through my feet.

This boat will be offering rides beginning in April 2017. $350 per person, $305 for seniors, children ages 12–17, military, and Museum Members. Children under 12 will not be allowed on the boat (even for tours).

All I've seen of these craft was from the movie PT 109 and McHale's Navy.
The boat made one heck of a lasting impression.

PT-109 was built by the Elco Works Naval Division of the Electric Boat Company in Bayonne, New Jersey. This boat (PT-305) was built by Higgins Industries in New Orleans, Louisiana. In fact, last I heard she'll be launched back into the water at Trinity Yachts which was a former Higgins plant.


Another photo from a better vantage point.

 

[loknload]

What a great blast from the past! So glad to see that it was saved! They were fantastic boats! Seen the two remaining boats up in Battleship Cove MA.

soFlaNative All I've seen of these craft was from the movie PT 109 and McHale's Navy.
The boat made one heck of a lasting impression.

There use to be one down in Key West I believe?

I have an original copy of the book, Long Were The Nights by Hugh Cave in regards to the original PT Squadron X in the Solomons. The book came out of and is stamped The Elco Boat Works, Bayonne New Jersey. It was their copy!
I also have a reprint of the Naval recruits PT handbook it is an interesting read!

 

[Tom S.]

That's some crazy cool stuff there! My neighbor (now deceased) used to say "I love work - I could watch it all day!". I feel the same way about watching big things operate and accomplish difficult tasks, like moving things like this. Great post!

 

[Wee Hooker]

PT boats ( and the weapons they carried) have a rich heritage in my area. There is a comprehensive PT boat section of the museum at battleship cove in Fall River MA. I used to drive by what was once the PT boat training School in Melville RI every day on my way to work at once was once known as the Torpedo Station in Newport RI. I've actually toured what was left of the WWII assembly line where the Torpedos were built ( before decay and the seagulls took it back over.) Amazing stories in those old hulls!

PS. Amazing that it would take $3M to refurb one of these little boats. There wasn't much to them but motors, plywood and weapons.
Nice post!

 

[muddocktor]

In the 80's, they had someone who had converted a PT boat into a camp out at Cypremort Point not too far from where I live. I believe it might have been either an Elco or a Vosper. They had cut a door entrance on one side of the hull and had it mounted in a cradle and it was the coolest idea I had ever seen for a camp. But in 1992 or so (I think), a hurricane took it out where it came ashore.

 

[parallel]

***snip***

PS. Amazing that it would take $3M to refurb one of these little boats. There wasn't much to them but motors, plywood and weapons.
Nice post!

Not hardly. This boat is built of two layers of mahogany planking (inner layer, one layer of dolfinite, one layer of canvas, another layer of dolfinite, outer layer) in a double diagonal pattern and held together by thousands of copper rivets and bronze screws.

As delivered these boats cost nearly $250,000 in the early 1940's. Anyone who has ever tried to recondition something old and mechanical can attest that the cost is FAR greater than when it was new. Also, bear in mind that they had to even FIND many of these items, and if they couldn't find them, they had to build them often as one off pieces. Finally... this renovation is as close as humanly possible to what this boat was back in WWII. The National WWII Museum has spared no expense and cut no corners.

The renovation crew lobbied for and got permission to put just one coat af varnish on the deck before it got painted over... the photo below is how that turned out. Check out the video link at below the deck photo to get an idea of just how in depth this undertaking was. When you add in the volunteer man-hours and "in-kind" donations... the costs is closer to $6 million.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNmB-1wq5n4"]Video of PT-305 Renovation [/ame]

 

[muddocktor]

I received an email from the WWII Museum this evening and they are now booking tours and rides for the PT-305. According to them, they should have it ready to tour and give rides on March 25, 2017. parallel gave the pricing for the rides, but today's email gave the tour pricing. For adults, the tour price is $15 per person, and $12 for seniors, children between 12-17, military and museum members. Like the rides, children under 12 are not permitted.

 

[Frank46]

Missed out on a ride on a B-17 years ago. Methinks I'm not going to repeat that mistake again. Thanks for the heads up regarding the rides. maybe for our 35th wedding anniversary. Frank