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Local Treasures

Est

War. War never changes.
Staff member
Moderator
Today I decided to take a quick trip to one of my "local treasures." Sure that sounds really cheesy, but every area has a few things that are pretty darn cool, that most non-locals don't know about.

This post's focus is on the Cement Ship. I hope to get around in the coming weeks and share some of the other cool things around here, and I would encourage you all to share too!

The Cement Ship "docked" at the Sea Cliff harbor in Aptos, California is the leftover of WW I. As I remember it, to deal with steel shortages during the war, and to continue cranking out warships, a test cement ship was built. Originally constructed in Oakland, CA, the ship now rests at the end of the harbor at Sea Cliff state beach.

Before the vessel saw any action, the war was over. Eventually she was sold to a private owner who used it as a casino / party boat. Eventually the pounding ocean began to take its toll and so she is as you see her now.

When I was a child, I remember going out on the boat (the 1st half or so was still accessible at that time.) There were these vents that would shoot out air every time a wave rolled in. Needless to say they provided unending entertainment for a younin' like myself.

She has steadily fallen apart and become part of the ecosystem. Over the past few years there were a few issues with oil, but all of that was eventually cleaned up. Apparently now the hull (both inside and out) is home to some large anemones and plenty of birds and other animals.

So, that's my little story on a neat thing that I figure most people haven't heard of or seen.

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A bit more information can be found here.
 
Has a rather ghostly appearance...

I imagine that people are no longer allowed on it due to safety issues.

The birds seem to like it though. ;)
 
Est, thanks for sharing, that is really cool stuff. I am a sucker for history... and I think it is especially amazing to see how countries have changed their strategies during war based on shortages of resources and changes in strategy. During WWII, when Japan realized battleships were becoming inferior, they scrapped their plans of building additional juggernaught battleships and instead (halfway point of when the ship was to come out of construction and be ready to go) they started coverting them to aircraft carriers.

Anyway, I don't remember reading about steel shortages, but when you think about it it makes sense. From the looks of it it seems to have been more of a cargo ship than an actual warship. Looks to be be a weird design to mount turrets.

Phil
 
That is a really cool ship. Thanks for sharing the interesting history with us.
 
thats rather interesting, thanks for sharing.
hey guess what treasures are in oregon?
Darlingtonia!!! I am guessing you have some in CA as well.
 
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