It's incredible how much rainwater damages steel when its not protected against the elements. wow, that is quite the amount of rust that was sweep up and thrown into that garbage can. Nice progress...its getting there. Once everything is water tight you'll have to throw a party for that milestone.
Hey I saw a couple of familiar steamboats in there. You folks might like to come over to the B&W for our annual gathering of steamboats in late September. :-)
You guys & gal are good looking on camera! I find the videos very entertaining with all the stuff, the music and the Aurora logo are so cool. I hope to keep watching it as long as Chris keep recording the restoration progress. Wishing you a continue sucess on this project, watching you from New York City.
I have been watching this project since the first interview, love it. I worked on building barges converted to dinner barges, I piloted side wheeler and stern wheeler on the rivers and great lake, yet my love for old ocean vessels has never faded, thank you so much for saving our history one piece at a time.
@@Dave5843-d9m when I'm going to bed I find myself constantly adjusting the volume up and down to keep it a constant level as to not bother my neighbors. It's just a matter of practicality
You have such a huge task every bit needs to be efficient Would a 9inch grinder be better for ripping out rusty hand rails? Maybe fire up the plasma cutter? Same with clean-ups. Is a big vacuum faster that sweeping? A cheap gazebo would keep the sun off. Maybe knock up a frame from old hand rails.
Amazing work on this ole gal. She looks better and better each video. It is incredible the amount of passion that all of you have to to revive this ship. Thanks for the video log. It has been very interesting.
I would like you to try to use some time lapse when doing these more tedious jobs cuz it's kind of hard to get somebody to sit down and watch a whole video on just on fixing railing
Hi guys I do floor coating for work and can I recommend when your coating the decks and other floors to not use a paint tray and just pour it straight onto the floor. You can pour strips or puddles. It takes a little to get your head around the idea but once you do it’s so much quicker to apply👍
Loving the progress! Simply amazing watching the results and dedication to this project with the most talented "crew" not missing any details! Thanks for sharing!
It would be good to know what your schedule of works is and when you will feature time on the bridge and firing the engines for the first time. Great work. Keep it up.
A schedule is actually not a bad idea. Right now we just have a hand full of started projects that we hop between on the days that we are out. Might be nice to kinda write out what we intend to accomplish in upcoming days. Thanks for the comment!
I see you are cleaning off rust with hand tools and have a suggestion. See if you can find an experienced floor sanding machine operator, they type of machine that is used to refinish hardwood floors. That just might cut labor by 90% or so.
There are so many different tasks do be done on this restoration project, perhaps you can schedule an update on the progress on those damn railings say, every February 29th?
amazing work! You should look into maybe finding students to help out who can learn doing metal and prep work etc. Im sure some school or college would maybe help
@@AuroraRestorationProject Live this project. Maybe a local college/trade school has some video students to increase the frequency of your UA-cam posts? More posts, more ad revenue??
There is something strange that to some of us there is so much satisfaction gained by taking something that looks like rubbish and turning it into something fine. Its not to do with money but an innate part of human nature. I wonder how that formed in the evolution oh homo sapiens. Nice work. I like the outcome of your work
One has to wonder if building a complete new ship wouldn’t be easier. You don’t have to remove anything old. ;-) Thanks for saying hi 👋 Greetings from California!
Thanks for all the comments we love hearing from supporters! Keep ‘em coming! If you’d like to be a patron and see more Behind The Scenes and Bonus content or even get pieces of this historic vessel please take a look at joining our Patreon creator page at www.patreon.com/aurorarestorationproject?fan_landing=true
You poor guys.... A temporary awning for shade would help a lot for the heat, those 10 X 10 tarps with brown on one side and silver on the other work great and they're cheap, and you can get those water misting kits at costco for 40 bucks that will change the game, you dont get wet, it evaporates as soon as it touches you and it keeps you nice and cool
The only particular problem we have are some pretty high winds would likely destroy one of those cheap temporary shades. I really like the misters too, but the wind would likely just blow the water away and we would have to figure out a water source that we could delegate to more of a luxury cause. Speaking of which… a pool would be nice. 😂
We have plans and ideas. Until we’re able to initiate we will remain in fresh shallow water. Yes check out the other videos for more details and this will also be addressed in a diving video soon.
I hope you all realize that you need more labor to get a project of this size finished within your lifetime. Not trying to be mean, but Ive seen the photos of inside and have done restoration my whole life. You need more labor
They are probably eyeing the real estate. Watch them start with a permanent parking lot. No, you are right, these guys aren't making money on Aurora any time soon.
We will be having some volunteer days in the future, but something this size always needs work, so the idea of ‘done’ is kinda moot. There’s just better, and worse, and we’ve been making it better for years now after years of it getting worse, and we take pride in that. There’s value that isn’t necessary quantified in dollars that the ship holds, and a lot of creative products have been created at this location, photos and film. It’s a hotspot for creativity and enjoyment for many. Hope y’all stick around and get some enjoyment out of it too!
@@AuroraRestorationProject whats the minimum amount of crew you would need to move? I assume a couple in the engine room and a couple on the bridge? Maybe four crew. Plus a couple of lookouts?
A huge project and great to see so much progress! But seeing the condition of the deck and the amount of holes and rust, has any inspection of the under the waterline been done to rate its condition? Fingers crossed that there is good news!
We have plans for the hull in the future but units we are capable of addressing we will continue to keep her in fresh and shallow water. Thanks for watching..
Amazing work one question on the original railing it has what I believe to be tensioning rods connected to the post and railing were those really necessary and would they need to be replaced in the future along with the teak hand rails ?
It’s astonishing every time seeing the beautiful location of water and fields where you’re doing this work. And when the sun gets too hot, nobody else on the water out there has the kind of space you have to retreat back into. Don’t let Shane feel too much self pity and mess anything up 😂. I wonder if the music with the heavy beats is originally inspired by ore crushers in mining. There are some of those around in like Nevada City near Grass Valley which drop heavy weights on the ore (but none operate now). I don’t see any video on UA-cam of that kind in operation either. Lee Dorsey’s classic track “Working In The Coal Mine” has sounds I guess like those little trains that carry the coal, or pick axes or something. Hmm maybe electric guitar is about tools like you’re using, grinding tools etc 🤷♂️. Or maybe the beats are like doors slamming or something. Working on a cruise ship you might hear that a lot.
Well, no one else is going to pity me, that’s for sure. Somebody’s got to do it. 😂 I dig the music on this one too, and I think you are right, I believe I may have seen music like this playing over some rock breaking themes… maybe like chain gang. Appropriate. ;-) Thanks for your comment!
@@shanemausome262 😂. Wow that sounds crazy, you all were just in national news with multiple articles and tons of support from people, and you’re out there slaving each other to get three or four sections of railing done 😳. Well I do feel sorry for you, but also it seems like a special group and I think you’re appreciated but people have got a lot going on. Grid is in a very difficult business with the movies. The payoff for being around people in that industry is they’re always exploring adventurous possibilities (I viewed their 2025 trailer and their horror-comedy dystopia of Trump purges seems to me a perfect example. . . ) but you just can’t let that magic pull you away from yourself (that can be a bad side of Hollywood, unfortunately.)
@@CharlesLangSamuel, Grid and I have worked on several film projects together, some on the ship. In fact, we came to learn about the ship when David Foster turned us onto it when we were working on a Resident Evil fan film called Sirens Song. While in that process I met Grid at a haunt I was working at the time with several others involved in that fan film, and Grid was so intense he made it into that project and we’ve been working together ever since. I created a group a few years ago called NorCal Xpendables and we do tactical and biker stuff for films. A new film we have tiny parts in called ‘Demon Fighter’ I was a bad guy and then he and I were in the biker scene. That also just hit Amazon. So the movies are coming out like mad right now. Reanimation Team, which is a sci-fi film shot on the ship should be hitting streaming soon too!
The engines have not ran since around 2002 but from inspection appear to be in relatively good condition. This will be something we address in the future no matter the use of the ship in the future.
@@AuroraRestorationProject thank you for the reply sir just wondering. Great video that you have shown us that are interested in your project sir. Yours truly Ed Parkhurst.
love the channel lots of great work going on with very satisfying results, just curious i keep seeing shots of what looks like a Canadian Navy mine sweeper on your port side if it is can you tell me the name of her i'm retired Navy with time on this class of ship, cheers PO2 Mike Curti RCN retired.
Chris has helped us by letting us film a few movies on the ship. This is a little reciprocation and enjoyment of the many aspects that the Aurora has played in our lives. It’s not just hard work, it’s a journey.
Since 2013 when Chris let me set up an art studio on the ship he has helped me achieve my dreams in art and filmmaking. I’ve put on 4 big art shows over the years on board the ship and he helped me travel to China 3 times over the years that were magical life experiences. He supported the making of my 2 feature films and my friends films on the Aurora. I could go on and on about his generosity and the good times we’ve had helping each other achieve our goals and dreams.
Please stop the music it’s so distracting and awful. Can’t wait to see the boat build! More extreme closeups please of the rot too! It’s hard to see how bad it really is. 👍
Is it just me or is the order in which the repairs are being made just don’t make sense. I would think you would focus on hull/ structure, engines, environmental systems then the cosmetic stuff.
Railing isn’t cosmetic it’s safety. Patching holes in the deck, getting rid of rust and painting to protect the metal is technically also not cosmetic. With that being said, some cosmetic repairs actually make the ship more comfortable and able to be utilized in a variety of ways. Nothing we are doing is without purpose.
Nice Job! I like the longer video.
It's incredible how much rainwater damages steel when its not protected against the elements. wow, that is quite the amount of rust that was sweep up and thrown into that garbage can. Nice progress...its getting there. Once everything is water tight you'll have to throw a party for that milestone.
Cool to see the Flag of Hamburg flying on the Wappen von Hamburg!
I see you caught us at 13:11
Looking good Chris! She looks more and more ship shape every time we pass by.
Nareszcie dobry odcinek pokazujący waszą pracę tylko że to o pokładzie i poręczach już było a poza tym to mały kawałek z prac do wykonania
Hey I saw a couple of familiar steamboats in there. You folks might like to come over to the B&W for our annual gathering of steamboats in late September. :-)
You guys & gal are good looking on camera! I find the videos very entertaining with all the stuff, the music and the Aurora logo are so cool. I hope to keep watching it as long as Chris keep recording the restoration progress. Wishing you a continue sucess on this project, watching you from New York City.
Thanks for watching!! 😃
Your female helper's smile reminds me of Bo Derek 👍
Wow thank you that’s an amazing compliment 😇 especially how torn up and trashed I look in this video! 😆
I have been watching this project since the first interview, love it. I worked on building barges converted to dinner barges, I piloted side wheeler and stern wheeler on the rivers and great lake, yet my love for old ocean vessels has never faded, thank you so much for saving our history one piece at a time.
I just saw your interview on CBS Sunday morning. I just subscribed and I can’t wait to see more!!!!
looking good
Another little tip , if you put candle wax on your cutting disks they may last longer . Australia watching
Someday this is going to make an epic will it run video. I can't wait.
That would definitely be awesome!
Ones mans music is another mans noise
I still wish the music wasn't so loud between people talking. You guys are really doing good work. I can not wait to see how it all turns out.
Thanks for your thoughts. Working on making each video a little better..
I thought music level was ok. It’s good over time lapse. Normal speed footage just needs a commentary.
@@Dave5843-d9m when I'm going to bed I find myself constantly adjusting the volume up and down to keep it a constant level as to not bother my neighbors. It's just a matter of practicality
You have such a huge task every bit needs to be efficient Would a 9inch grinder be better for ripping out rusty hand rails? Maybe fire up the plasma cutter?
Same with clean-ups. Is a big vacuum faster that sweeping?
A cheap gazebo would keep the sun off. Maybe knock up a frame from old hand rails.
WOW. Wonderful job! I wish I could come and help. You all look like bikers dudes and dudettes!
Everyone is working hard! Good work!
Very few jobs aboard this ship are easy. Thanks for watching..
Thanks for the recognition!
Grid's gonna be in a movie! That's cool.
Always nice to see the progress being made. Can't wait to see her done!
one word over the whole operation: AMAZING
We have lots of great projects lined up for this summer. Thanks for watching.
Thanks! Appreciate the love!
Amazing progress, well done team
Thanks Ship Happens team.
For all your pipe work, one of those portable bandsaws would be a welcome change to a cutting wheel.
Agreed, It’s on the list of tools to acquire..
Amazing project
Thank you,
Need one of those laser rust removal machines.
Man! That sounds awesome! Feel free to send one over. 🤔😉
@@shanemausome262 I wish I had the cash. Maybe you could contact manufacturers and trade?
Awsome job looking great.
Thank you..
Thanks for the love!
This is truly fascinating stuff. Thank you for taking us along with you on this journey.
Bravo les gars, c'est du bon boulot, chapeau !
Amazing work on this ole gal. She looks better and better each video. It is incredible the amount of passion that all of you have to to revive this ship. Thanks for the video log. It has been very interesting.
Thank you…
Thank you for the love!
I would like you to try to use some time lapse when doing these more tedious jobs cuz it's kind of hard to get somebody to sit down and watch a whole video on just on fixing railing
Great video thanks the joy of rusty metal
Glad to bring enjoyment through rust :)
@@AuroraRestorationProject In the words of Neil Young, "Rust never sleeps" (which he supposedly borrowed from a 70s Polyglycoat ad)
Hi guys I do floor coating for work and can I recommend when your coating the decks and other floors to not use a paint tray and just pour it straight onto the floor. You can pour strips or puddles. It takes a little to get your head around the idea but once you do it’s so much quicker to apply👍
Loving the progress! Simply amazing watching the results and dedication to this project with the most talented "crew" not missing any details! Thanks for sharing!
We learn more each day and our crew is growing. Thanks for the kind words :)
Thanks dude!
Another UK subscriber. Keep going guys your getting there, loving this epic restoration.
Hello from the UK! This is just an Epic project. A Fantastic effort by everyone involved 👏
You keep watching and we will keep making videos..
Grate job slow and stay as she gos
Thank you.
Thanks for the comment!
I would be working on cleaning out the trash and BBQing for you all!!!
We do love BBQ! :-)
It would be good to know what your schedule of works is and when you will feature time on the bridge and firing the engines for the first time. Great work. Keep it up.
A schedule is actually not a bad idea. Right now we just have a hand full of started projects that we hop between on the days that we are out. Might be nice to kinda write out what we intend to accomplish in upcoming days. Thanks for the comment!
I see you are cleaning off rust with hand tools and have a suggestion. See if you can find an experienced floor sanding machine operator, they type of machine that is used to refinish hardwood floors. That just might cut labor by 90% or so.
There are so many different tasks do be done on this restoration project, perhaps you can schedule an update on the progress on those damn railings say, every February 29th?
Simply fantastic...keep it up !!
Thanks, We absolutely will..
Thanks for the love!
amazing work! You should look into maybe finding students to help out who can learn doing metal and prep work etc. Im sure some school or college would maybe help
That’s an idea we can explore in the near future. Thanks
@@AuroraRestorationProject Live this project. Maybe a local college/trade school has some video students to increase the frequency of your UA-cam posts? More posts, more ad revenue??
There is something strange that to some of us there is so much satisfaction gained by taking something that looks like rubbish and turning it into something fine. Its not to do with money but an innate part of human nature. I wonder how that formed in the evolution oh homo sapiens. Nice work. I like the outcome of your work
Thanks so much for your comment and viewership!
This really is like building a complete new ship...
And by the way , nice Hamburg-Shirt ! :-) :-) :-)
(Greetings from Hamburg.........)
One has to wonder if building a complete new ship wouldn’t be easier. You don’t have to remove anything old. ;-) Thanks for saying hi 👋 Greetings from California!
The steam boat Persistence sailed by in the video. I helped build her. She was once a logging boat.
Steve and Wes are great friends of ours. Love that little steamboat..
@@AuroraRestorationProject they are both incredible people. The project took over a decade to complete.
So is going to be a boutique cruise ship when finished?
We pass you all the time on Saturdays. Can we stop in an see the ship?
Commandeer
When’s the last time the engines on the Aurora ran?
Do you guys use ospho on the rust?
Ospho seems to work great one most of the rust is removed.
I want a dock space there
It’s a beautiful place ..
Thanks for all the comments we love hearing from supporters! Keep ‘em coming! If you’d like to be a patron and see more Behind The Scenes and Bonus content or even get pieces of this historic vessel please take a look at joining our Patreon creator page at
www.patreon.com/aurorarestorationproject?fan_landing=true
You poor guys.... A temporary awning for shade would help a lot for the heat, those 10 X 10 tarps with brown on one side and silver on the other work great and they're cheap, and you can get those water misting kits at costco for 40 bucks that will change the game, you dont get wet, it evaporates as soon as it touches you and it keeps you nice and cool
The only particular problem we have are some pretty high winds would likely destroy one of those cheap temporary shades. I really like the misters too, but the wind would likely just blow the water away and we would have to figure out a water source that we could delegate to more of a luxury cause. Speaking of which… a pool would be nice. 😂
Love the channel, but why is there a Coast Guard ship docked next to you unless I’m mistaken
It’s an old minesweeper.
@@shanemausome262
Oh ok thanks
When will they start rebuilding engines
Pretty sure that the engines and drive have been done, prior to the purchase . pretty sure I saw some pictures of the engine early EPs
Maybe this has been covered elsewhere - how are you guys going to check and restore the hull below the waterline?
We have plans and ideas. Until we’re able to initiate we will remain in fresh shallow water. Yes check out the other videos for more details and this will also be addressed in a diving video soon.
Thanks for your comment!
I hope you all realize that you need more labor to get a project of this size finished within your lifetime. Not trying to be mean, but Ive seen the photos of inside and have done restoration my whole life. You need more labor
They are probably eyeing the real estate. Watch them start with a permanent parking lot. No, you are right, these guys aren't making money on Aurora any time soon.
We will be having some volunteer days in the future, but something this size always needs work, so the idea of ‘done’ is kinda moot. There’s just better, and worse, and we’ve been making it better for years now after years of it getting worse, and we take pride in that.
There’s value that isn’t necessary quantified in dollars that the ship holds, and a lot of creative products have been created at this location, photos and film. It’s a hotspot for creativity and enjoyment for many. Hope y’all stick around and get some enjoyment out of it too!
what happened to the boat on the bareboard side.
Has it sunk???
Was wondering the same thing
Yup. The price of neglect.
Are you intending of firing up the engines? Will she move one day under her own engines?
I believe she could. Engines appear in pretty decent shape.
@@AuroraRestorationProject whats the minimum amount of crew you would need to move? I assume a couple in the engine room and a couple on the bridge? Maybe four crew. Plus a couple of lookouts?
when you're done welding new plate into the deck, are you going to put new wood down? or will it stay painted metal
A huge project and great to see so much progress! But seeing the condition of the deck and the amount of holes and rust, has any inspection of the under the waterline been done to rate its condition? Fingers crossed that there is good news!
We have plans for the hull in the future but units we are capable of addressing we will continue to keep her in fresh and shallow water. Thanks for watching..
There’s a lot of questions about what’s under the water. We may bring ya’ll under to have a peek soon! ;-)
Why was the Coast Guard tied up there?
Timelapse’s!!!!
Amazing work one question on the original railing it has what I believe to be tensioning rods connected to the post and railing were those really necessary and would they need to be replaced in the future along with the teak hand rails ?
I have one question. Why do you guys not have a sand blaster?
It’s astonishing every time seeing the beautiful location of water and fields where you’re doing this work. And when the sun gets too hot, nobody else on the water out there has the kind of space you have to retreat back into. Don’t let Shane feel too much self pity and mess anything up 😂. I wonder if the music with the heavy beats is originally inspired by ore crushers in mining. There are some of those around in like Nevada City near Grass Valley which drop heavy weights on the ore (but none operate now). I don’t see any video on UA-cam of that kind in operation either. Lee Dorsey’s classic track “Working In The Coal Mine” has sounds I guess like those little trains that carry the coal, or pick axes or something. Hmm maybe electric guitar is about tools like you’re using, grinding tools etc 🤷♂️. Or maybe the beats are like doors slamming or something. Working on a cruise ship you might hear that a lot.
Well, no one else is going to pity me, that’s for sure. Somebody’s got to do it. 😂 I dig the music on this one too, and I think you are right, I believe I may have seen music like this playing over some rock breaking themes… maybe like chain gang. Appropriate. ;-) Thanks for your comment!
@@shanemausome262 😂. Wow that sounds crazy, you all were just in national news with multiple articles and tons of support from people, and you’re out there slaving each other to get three or four sections of railing done 😳. Well I do feel sorry for you, but also it seems like a special group and I think you’re appreciated but people have got a lot going on. Grid is in a very difficult business with the movies. The payoff for being around people in that industry is they’re always exploring adventurous possibilities (I viewed their 2025 trailer and their horror-comedy dystopia of Trump purges seems to me a perfect example. . . ) but you just can’t let that magic pull you away from yourself (that can be a bad side of Hollywood, unfortunately.)
@@CharlesLangSamuel, Grid and I have worked on several film projects together, some on the ship. In fact, we came to learn about the ship when David Foster turned us onto it when we were working on a Resident Evil fan film called Sirens Song. While in that process I met Grid at a haunt I was working at the time with several others involved in that fan film, and Grid was so intense he made it into that project and we’ve been working together ever since. I created a group a few years ago called NorCal Xpendables and we do tactical and biker stuff for films. A new film we have tiny parts in called ‘Demon Fighter’ I was a bad guy and then he and I were in the biker scene. That also just hit Amazon. So the movies are coming out like mad right now. Reanimation Team, which is a sci-fi film shot on the ship should be hitting streaming soon too!
The Butcher he lives!!! 😂
Just you too guys…..Stop!
It took me 2 years to do a 24 footer from the keel up ….you too will be about 80yo ….lol….goodluck.
what is the name of the ship next to aurora that looks parhly sunk
It’s a 1957 Canadian Minesweeper call the Chaleur.
@@AuroraRestorationProject wiki says that ship was cut up and decommissioned in 1999?
@@AuroraRestorationProject never mind, read your Facebook post 😂
Nothing party about it, except scrapped. 😂
💪💪💪💪
Hello again. I have a question. Does the engine in the ship even run yet or is that another thing that needs replacing or repair if possible?
The engines have not ran since around 2002 but from inspection appear to be in relatively good condition. This will be something we address in the future no matter the use of the ship in the future.
@@AuroraRestorationProject thank you for the reply sir just wondering. Great video that you have shown us that are interested in your project sir. Yours truly Ed Parkhurst.
love the channel lots of great work going on with very satisfying results, just curious i keep seeing shots of what looks like a Canadian Navy mine sweeper on your port side if it is can you tell me the name of her i'm retired Navy with time on this class of ship, cheers PO2 Mike Curti RCN retired.
The minesweeper is called the Chaleur.
@@AuroraRestorationProject oh cool always wondered where she ended up thanx for the reply .
Hey um you have a ship sinking behind you...i mean its sunk but...little help?
Not our ship. The sunken vessel has nothing to do with the Aurora.
Are the crew getting paid, or what is their incentive to keep working so hard day in and day out?? (edit: spelling)
We get gas. We love the job.
Chris has helped us by letting us film a few movies on the ship. This is a little reciprocation and enjoyment of the many aspects that the Aurora has played in our lives. It’s not just hard work, it’s a journey.
right on Grid/Shane - thank you for the responses. Sounds awesome.
I’m having fun!! Surrounded by good crew/friends 💕
Since 2013 when Chris let me set up an art studio on the ship he has helped me achieve my dreams in art and filmmaking. I’ve put on 4 big art shows over the years on board the ship and he helped me travel to China 3 times over the years that were magical life experiences. He supported the making of my 2 feature films and my friends films on the Aurora. I could go on and on about his generosity and the good times we’ve had helping each other achieve our goals and dreams.
That 2025 movie looks, uh, interesting?
A must watch..
Why not work up an awning get some shade for the pretty lady anyhow .
Yes good idea… Chris? Stop slackin and get me an awning lol 😂 j/k
Maybe we need someone to hold an umbrella over Zeena while she is working. 😂
@@shanemausome262 🤣😂 thankfully I’m not that sort but it is funny. Well… maybe we could try it? Lol 😂
Just wear the chicken head @@zeenagolden, you’ll be fine. 😂
I just saw a video about the sinking of the Aurora. I hope it is not this beautiful ship....
,
Thanks for your continued engagement. We see you! ;-)
The Deck looked nasty, and demanding a huge effort of you guys. Zena I did not watch you and your buddy , practising on railway welding.
Looking so much better now. Can’t wait to finish the entire area..
@@AuroraRestorationProject Me too , you guys are smashing with the rebuild.
Thanks for the love!
Repetitive music is dreadful!
Please stop the music it’s so distracting and awful. Can’t wait to see the boat build! More extreme closeups please of the rot too! It’s hard to see how bad it really is. 👍
Is it just me or is the order in which the repairs are being made just don’t make sense. I would think you would focus on hull/ structure, engines, environmental systems then the cosmetic stuff.
Railing isn’t cosmetic it’s safety. Patching holes in the deck, getting rid of rust and painting to protect the metal is technically also not cosmetic. With that being said, some cosmetic repairs actually make the ship more comfortable and able to be utilized in a variety of ways. Nothing we are doing is without purpose.