Actually, the USS Merrimack was a wooden frigate with auxiliary steam power. Burned to the waterline during the evacuation of Norfolk Navy Yard in the opening days of the war, she was later rebuilt as a casemate ironclad and rechristened CSS Virginia.
There’s some funny comments on here! But the truth is it’s a lot easier to weld the hull plates with it upside down so it’s a common practice. Though the flipping is usually done on land, I’ve never seen it done in the water before.
Borderline Alcoholic They realised it was built upside down after they launched it and the people trying to build the wheel house on the deck kept drowning. After the autopsies findings, they figure they should turn it over to build the wheel house and to make it easier to carry vehicles.
Up to a certain size, it's much easier to build a boat hull upside-down. You can lay the flat deck on a shop floor, or on simple supports, and build up from there, with no need for expensive, custom framing, and with minimal need for overhead welding. Ask anybody who's built their own boat, and they'll probably tell you they did it upside-down.
My father many years ago used to turn barges over when afloat by partially flooding them passing ropes over the hull to the far side and towing them broadside on The deck edge nearest the tug would go down the water inside the hull would rush down and over it would go No cranes just a tugboat
Makes sense regarding the welding , easier that overhead welding process . Why not install the shaft and propeller too when the work areas are is exposed ? Thanks
it was manufactured upside down because it's easier to lay a big steel plate and weld it rather than trying to lift all the big heavy plates and support them without flex while a guy stands under it and welds each plate. the prop and shaft were not installed yet due to the force of impact as it flops over would bend the shaft. no dummies here
I worked in a shipyard in San Diego (not National Steel) & we built tuna seine 1200 ton net load and we launched the bottom of the ship upside down and then flipped it hauled it back onto the building ways and added the top and relaunched several months later
It may be a good idea for them, considering the different logistics. It could as well be that this method was invented by Norwegians to suite special conditions of ship building.
Looking at the design of the hull no wonder in rough weather when the cargo shifts those ferries sink and roll over? That flat haul is a double edge sword!
ronstacie3 They had to haul the hull from the water in order to build the hall that houses the vehicles for transport. Before they flipped it over. Surely the checked for holes. Maybe the word, "holes," may have taken it too far.
TWTR4EVER No keel, a heavy load on the main deck, and no stability nacelles. It really does sound like these vessels should not be out in harsh seas. Whenever there is a small craft advisory, ferry ships should not sail.
Indrid Cold Back in the 1980's I did a crossing at the beginning of winter of the English channel from Dover (England) to Calais (France) in a ferry called "The Herald Of Free Enterprise". A few weeks after, the same ferry crossing I believe from Rotterdam or Amsterdam (Netherlands) back to Dover (England) in a storm, the ship capsized!
Herald of free Enterprise capsized when leaving Zeebrugge port 4 minuts after passing the last mole. Here bowport was still open when coming out in heavy seas.
I can see a cluster of tiny boatyards from the bridge on my way home, and one day I was shocked to see a capsized barge bobbing in the tight confines of their tiny inlet! Subsequent trips confirmed that they had simply careened the thing like a rowboat and dragged it up the ways to work on the underside. How they managed this with the small space and limited equipment available, I have no idea.
Barges and work platforms are flipped over for a number of reasons. When a flat bottom barge is flipped though it can be done with a 10 horse pump. The sleeker shape of that hull bottom,, I've no idea if the cheap trick would work. just don't know. Barges are flipped by filling to about half full and then roll them over, then pump out again. The flip can be accomplished with dock lines and gravity. May not be deep enough in that river.
They should have left it like it was when first launched. Imagine this...you're on a Carnival Cruise or the like, lounging out on your balcony and having the time of your life, and then this thing cruises up to your ship. I don't know about you, but I would be scared shitless!!!
I think this is an ingenious design. It appears as though they are taking into consideration cargo door failures at sea which result in the flooding and sinking of many ferrys. If the hull is not exposed to flooding it wont sink...like a single huge pontoon....even if the ferry rolls over it wont sink giving everyone a better chance of survival.
Please understand, I know nothing of shipbuilding, but I have to ask, why the hell don't they just build it / put it in the water right-side-up in the first place?
I researched this one and apparently the hull was designed in the Southern hemisphere, they did not take this into account during the build and had to wing it.
Makes sense. Lot easier to build a ship hull upside down than right side up. The same massive cranes will lift the engine and superstructure into place.
Because it was built upside down. It's far easier and less damaging to turn the hull right-side-up in the water in this case. If you turned this hull on land it would require massive setup effort. Normally, if you build a small hull upside down you don't have a deck on it which would allow this kind of operation. Also, the superstructure and fit-out can now be completed afloat, freeing up yard space for another build.
I guess they wanted to get both sides wet. Those tugs are quite maneuverable. Quite a bit of strain on those large cranes from the cable whip once the hull was righted.
Any boat I think I ever seen built was built right side up and launched into the water. Apparently ferries are built and launched upside down then rolled over.
I've been building commercial fishing vessels to be used in the Gulf of Mexico and on the East Coast of the United States in the Atlantic since the 1970's. I can think of a very few reasons, ( Moronic at Best ) , to flip a vessel W/O it's shaft and propeller.
Making a hull involves a LOT of welding. You choose: Welding over your head, hot metal dripping in your collar, or welding at the same metal by you feet, standing over it all? I *really* dislike molten metal in my collar.
I can see a number of small boatyards from a local bridge, and one day was surprised to see a barge, in for repair I expect, turned turtle and being winched onto the ways. Then it struck me that it made sense to work on hull damage while it was upside down, especially in a small facility.
Millions and millions of years ago, DINOSAURS roamed the Earth... One day, a mommy dinosaur came to realize she could love a daddy dinosaur very, very much.
Its only the bottom of a Ferry so they are still working on it. Maybe they cant flip it over in the boat shed to keep working on it so use the water to help flip it
I thought they would pump it full of water, play with the center of gravity, get it capsize, and them pump the water back out, but they used cranes instead. If you just happen to have some big cranes handy, well.
This would have gone a lot better if they'd had all these UA-cam experts there to assist.
NOOOOO!! Flip it back to the way it was. Looks like a futuristic hovercraft.
Next time remember: If the writings on the blueprint look strange and are difficult to read... you're holding it upside down.
+Mikosch2 Maybe the ship was originally designed to operate in the southern hemisphere.
Sound costs extra.
Oh my goodness!!! This is the strangest thing! Well, you never cease to learn!
Upside down it looks like the latest state-of-the-art military Stealth Warship.
Very interesting. I am amazed how shallow the draught is.
For a second there, I thought they built a new USS Merrimack.
Actually, the USS Merrimack was a wooden frigate with auxiliary steam power. Burned to the waterline during the evacuation of Norfolk Navy Yard in the opening days of the war, she was later rebuilt as a casemate ironclad and rechristened CSS Virginia.
Jeff, so on the same wavelength...
That worked out nicely.
Hey guys look over here, some paint is drying.
They had the plans upside down all along!
There’s some funny comments on here! But the truth is it’s a lot easier to weld the hull plates with it upside down so it’s a common practice. Though the flipping is usually done on land, I’ve never seen it done in the water before.
I wonder when they first realised they'd built it upside down.
Have you seen the film :
Kirsten Dunst in Upside Down (2012)...
Was this built in Mississippi?
MKKK
L
&@
KKK
M Borderline Alcoholic
Borderline Alcoholic They realised it was built upside down after they launched it and the people trying to build the wheel house on the deck kept drowning. After the autopsies findings, they figure they should turn it over to build the wheel house and to make it easier to carry vehicles.
Lol...
Up to a certain size, it's much easier to build a boat hull upside-down. You can lay the flat deck on a shop floor, or on simple supports, and build up from there, with no need for expensive, custom framing, and with minimal need for overhead welding. Ask anybody who's built their own boat, and they'll probably tell you they did it upside-down.
Hats off to the guy who noticed somethin wasn't quite right.......before they put on the Deck.
My father many years ago used to turn barges over when afloat by partially flooding them passing ropes over the hull to the far side and towing them broadside on
The deck edge nearest the tug would go down the water inside the hull would rush down and over it would go No cranes just a tugboat
When I bought my new boat they told me #1 rule was to launch with the propeller-side down!
Absolutely fascinating that they launch it upside down then flip it.
Seemed like a good idea at the time....
Makes sense regarding the welding , easier that overhead welding process . Why not install the shaft and propeller too when the work areas are is exposed ? Thanks
Damage when flipping.
I worked on this vessel and the shafts and wheels were not in yet plus they wanted to make sure the paint on the hull was ok when they drydocked her.
I agree with Max; I would have expected the prop and shaft to be installed prior to flipping it.
That's a different way of launching a hull than I've ever seen.
People are only giving it thumbs down because they tuned in and were deprived of fail.
It's clearly a stealth attack ship with a forward firing energy beam weapon. Very high tech.
Slick! Very impressive! Amazing what professionals can do.
Wow! I've never seen that done before!
it was manufactured upside down because it's easier to lay a big steel plate and weld it rather than trying to lift all the big heavy plates and support them without flex while a guy stands under it and welds each plate. the prop and shaft were not installed yet due to the force of impact as it flops over would bend the shaft. no dummies here
Now that would make a nice HOUSE BOAT platform with garden pool and everything
Nice bit of lateral thinking., Inventive; Courageous and it worked., Well-Done :)
I thought they would partially flood the hull and then airbag one side of it?
Hulls constructed this way using vertical down welding are stronger. It does look like a
new age stealth Ironclad too.
If something breaks the hull falls toward the cranes. Or am I missing something?
Well, thats one way of doing it I guess. You could have put the prop & shaft in while it was upside down?
I have to wonder what the side of the hull looked like that came up against the dock, you can see it hit's when coming over.
I worked in a shipyard in San Diego (not National Steel) & we built tuna seine 1200 ton net load and we launched the bottom of the ship upside down and then flipped it hauled it back onto the building ways and added the top and relaunched several months later
This was three years ago, that seems like enough time to continue this.
very special kind of constructing ships I have to say ;) ...
It may be a good idea for them, considering the different logistics. It could as well be that this method was invented by Norwegians to suite special conditions of ship building.
If those cranes had toppled over, this video would be on, "Worlds Worst Engineering Disasters"
Wouldn't it be easier to install the prop shaft before rolling the hull over?
I feel like their was an easier way to do this....
Real man's work, here.
Actually its really smart and cost effective
They either printed the plans upside down, or put the "UP" sticker on the document tube the wrong way. ;-)
That is what I was thinking, my first thought was it looks better the first way.
Looking at the design of the hull no wonder in rough weather when the cargo shifts those ferries sink and roll over?
That flat haul is a double edge sword!
hull, not haul
ronstacie3 They had to haul the hull from the water in order to build the hall that houses the vehicles for transport. Before they flipped it over. Surely the checked for holes.
Maybe the word, "holes," may have taken it too far.
TWTR4EVER No keel, a heavy load on the main deck, and no stability nacelles. It really does sound like these vessels should not be out in harsh seas. Whenever there is a small craft advisory, ferry ships should not sail.
Indrid Cold Back in the 1980's I did a crossing at the beginning of winter of the English channel from Dover (England) to Calais (France) in a ferry called "The Herald Of Free Enterprise". A few weeks after, the same ferry crossing I believe from Rotterdam or Amsterdam (Netherlands) back to Dover (England) in a storm, the ship capsized!
Herald of free Enterprise capsized when leaving Zeebrugge port 4 minuts after passing the last mole. Here bowport was still open when coming out in heavy seas.
hmmm, this was actually more boring than I thought it would be.
I can see a cluster of tiny boatyards from the bridge on my way home, and one day I was shocked to see a capsized barge bobbing in the tight confines of their tiny inlet! Subsequent trips confirmed that they had simply careened the thing like a rowboat and dragged it up the ways to work on the underside. How they managed this with the small space and limited equipment available, I have no idea.
it looks cooler upside down. like a high tech submarine
That's some engineering there...
Barges and work platforms are flipped over for a number of reasons. When a flat bottom barge is flipped though it can be done with a 10 horse pump. The sleeker shape of that hull bottom,, I've no idea if the cheap trick would work. just don't know. Barges are flipped by filling to about half full and then roll them over, then pump out again. The flip can be accomplished with dock lines and gravity. May not be deep enough in that river.
wo7uld think the prop would be in there before the roll over
Oops!
How they going to put the propellers in now?
They should have left it like it was when first launched. Imagine this...you're on a Carnival Cruise or the like, lounging out on your balcony and having the time of your life, and then this thing cruises up to your ship. I don't know about you, but I would be scared shitless!!!
What's the purpose in launchig a hull upside down and flipping it over later?
How do they roll out their cars?
Building the thing right side up seems to make a lot more sense at this point...
hey what branch of conrad ??? is it in the deepwater facility???
I think this is an ingenious design. It appears as though they are taking into consideration cargo door failures at sea which result in the flooding and sinking of many ferrys. If the hull is not exposed to flooding it wont sink...like a single huge pontoon....even if the ferry rolls over it wont sink giving everyone a better chance of survival.
Please understand, I know nothing of shipbuilding, but I have to ask, why the hell don't they just build it / put it in the water right-side-up in the first place?
that's exactly what I thought.
Finally they realized since 1865 the war is over, ironclads no longer needed, so they rolled it and made it a ferry.
I researched this one and apparently the hull was designed in the Southern hemisphere, they did not take this into account during the build and had to wing it.
okay that is the most unusual launch I have ever seen.
Makes sense. Lot easier to build a ship hull upside down than right side up. The same massive cranes will lift the engine and superstructure into place.
Because it was built upside down. It's far easier and less damaging to turn the hull right-side-up in the water in this case. If you turned this hull on land it would require massive setup effort. Normally, if you build a small hull upside down you don't have a deck on it which would allow this kind of operation. Also, the superstructure and fit-out can now be completed afloat, freeing up yard space for another build.
'
no wonder this ship cannot rolling over itself without 2 cranes helpers...
what is that flat ship and what use for
Now we know why all the ferries roll over in Europe... they are just trying to get back to the way they were laid!!
I guess they wanted to get both sides wet. Those tugs are quite maneuverable. Quite a bit of strain on those large cranes from the cable whip once the hull was righted.
??? I never saw a boat launched upside down before....Is this something new ???...very interesting concept !!!
No wake zone....cool!
Looks more stable upside down... No wonder those ferries capsize all the time.
*eastonia flashback*
Justin Hooper -
Stupid question: Wouldn't it have been easier to install the prop and shaft while the hull's still upside down?
Looks a little like a modern day Civil War Ironclad.
Ok.........THAT WAS COOL 👍🏼
I'm pretty sure that this was the intended way of launch. not an accident at all.
Man I would like to hang about 30 big outboards on the stern. It would be like the worlds biggest hydroplane.
Any boat I think I ever seen built was built right side up and launched into the water.
Apparently ferries are built and launched upside down then rolled over.
That was ferry interesting.
Looked really cool while upside down.. wish boats looked like that and just sliced through the waves...
Google "Great Lakes Whale Back"
They were an interesting concept...
Press "Z" or "R" twice to do a barrel roll!
What on earth was the point? Seems like a rather inefficient method of construction.
That's not the tooth ferry is it?
Looks like a civil war ironclad
I've been building commercial fishing vessels to be used in the Gulf of Mexico and on the East Coast of the United States in the Atlantic since the 1970's. I can think of a very few reasons, ( Moronic at Best ) , to flip a vessel W/O it's shaft and propeller.
Making a hull involves a LOT of welding.
You choose: Welding over your head, hot metal dripping in your collar, or welding at the same metal by you feet, standing over it all?
I *really* dislike molten metal in my collar.
Good one :D
I would have been more impressed if they had flipped it over end-for end !!!
Looks like a stealth hovercraft.
Seeing the shallow bottom structure explains WHY they flip and sink so often.
heres a tip... launch it the right way up like a regular ship...
And how would you propose going about it then? By balancing it on the keel? Doesn't sound like very a waterproof idea, if you'll pardon the pun...
So it was SUPPOSED to roll over. Nice clickbait.
I can see a number of small boatyards from a local bridge, and one day was surprised to see a barge, in for repair I expect, turned turtle and being winched onto the ways. Then it struck me that it made sense to work on hull damage while it was upside down, especially in a small facility.
it did roll over stupid
While I still think it was click bait, it was pretty darn cool!
Well, it was supposed to roll over due to its special design. Looks like a 007 new toy.
does somebody wana tell me why they dont just put it in right side up....?
is this made in Amelia, LA?
Is this a new stealth battleship?
can't big tugs just do a 'wrap around' tug of war flip manouvre as soon as it's launced?
Impresionante
Millions and millions of years ago, DINOSAURS roamed the Earth...
One day, a mommy dinosaur came to realize she could love a daddy dinosaur very, very much.
Its only the bottom of a Ferry so they are still working on it. Maybe they cant flip it over in the boat shed to keep working on it so use the water to help flip it
I thought they would pump it full of water, play with the center of gravity, get it capsize, and them pump the water back out, but they used cranes instead. If you just happen to have some big cranes handy, well.
Thats how I would have done it. Water and compressed air
That would make a bitchin hovercraft
So cool