Diomed Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Doesnt looklike a Ro/Ro conversion job to me and I have served on the world's largest. The Lady is an old rust bucket that realy should be scrapped along with the ss Manxman. Old ships are like old cars only fit for the scrap yard. Only dry land sailors and retired ships captains feel nostalgic towards old ships. The latter because they have lost their 'power' and are only irrelevant normal people again. I only ever sailed on the Lady from Douglas to PSM and back a few years ago and I was unhappy about the lay out of the passage ways and and easy exit in case of emergency. Obviously the Stm Pkt needs a decent all weather passenger ferry to replace the Ben, which is a nautical abomination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cret Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 I'm confused - would you rather someone had bought it and left it to rust or converted it and kept it running ? The former to be honest or for it to be kept running how it was rather than turned into Frankenstein's monster. Doesnt looklike a Ro/Ro conversion job to me Me neither really. Only dry land sailors and retired ships captains feel nostalgic towards old ships. That's funny, because I'm an active sailor and I feel nostalgic towards old ships, in particular ones I'vce travelled on. Obviously the Stm Pkt needs a decent all weather passenger ferry to replace the Ben, which is a nautical abomination. Not so sure - I've never been a big fan of that boat but in fairness to it I'm led to believe it has had an excellent record of putting out to sea regardless of weather which surely affords it some respect? Yarrr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideways Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 The Ben is a damn good boat IMO. The problem with it was it was marketed as a new passenger ferry which it is not. It is a freight boat that has passenger carrying facilities. I prefer to sail on the Ben rather than these “fast craft” things, 3.5 hours in a comfortable cabin watching tele and drinking tea is a much better way to travel than 2.5 hours being shaken to death amongst a sea of ill looking people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
When Skies Are Grey Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Sorry to ressurrect an old thread but thought you might like to see the finished article...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqueline Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 No apology required. There is a saying in our family that 'fools and bairns shouldn't see a job half done'. I think this thread proves that quite nicely. Thanks for picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x-in-man Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Is the gear box any good? If so - Buy it back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 but did they need to put that block of flats on top of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5-demerits Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Seems another typical FCMR started thread that is proved to be a case of 'run before he can walk', or utter twaddle Good to see the old Lady in finer fettle and hopefully in use for many years to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cret Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Is the gear box any good? If so - Buy it back! Priceless It actually doesn't look that bad I must admit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diomed Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Yes the shipyard have done a good job on her, from the distance anyway. The St Pkt were perhaps foolish to get rid of her but was probably an expensive liability at her age. The rules, regulations and standards that pax ships have to be met are horendous. The older the ships the more intensive the surveys become. Perhaps the Greeks arent too fussy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexMcC Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 The side view is quite deceptive, if you look from bow on you realise how bad she actually looks, the new structure has a different shape to the old ship, so she looks like a jumbled heap. Course though, they will get only a few years out in reality, the Greeks have a limit of 35 for the age of ships in service, soon to come down to 30.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iom_cb Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 i think it's good that it's been given a new lease of life.....alot of ships that age would have been scrapped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skig Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 The side view is quite deceptive, if you look from bow on you realise how bad she actually looks, the new structure has a different shape to the old ship, so she looks like a jumbled heap. Course though, they will get only a few years out in reality, the Greeks have a limit of 35 for the age of ships in service, soon to come down to 30.... Then she will be off to join her sister who is 4 years older. Nice to see the two old ships given a new lease of life http://www.merseyshipping.co.uk/photofeatu...arythequeen.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Sorry to ressurrect an old thread but thought you might like to see the finished article...... WSAG, where did you find this photo ... I've googled, but had no luck ... all I'm getting are pictures of the job half done with rusty metal and welds all over the place. Its great to see her finished and continuing to be a productive asset. The same for Mary the Queen. One in Greece, the other in the Philippines ... aint this thing called trade amazing! Must have been quite a journey to get Mona's Queen down there ... round the Cape of Good Hope ... used to the the Cape of Storms ... til the Dutch decided it was giving Cape Town a bad press and changed it ... ok it was 300 years ago, but even so ... did she really sail all that way, or was she piggy backed on a bulk carrier? anyone know. Edited Typos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 I think it's a shame to see a ship with her history (the last side loader of her kind in the world) being converted into a RoRo by means of some welding and the addition of some steel here and there. I remember that she had been refurbished and brought up to current MCA safety standards at the cost of 1.something million just a few years ago - that was, when the cinema was turned into a void space and the MES systems were fitted (if I remember that right). It's good fun going down them slides - we had to do it in Liverpool for a drill once, and apparently it cost 50k to deploy the system, which they had to do to prove that it works. It might sound a bit strange from someone who grew up in Bavaria, surrounded by some of Europe's highest mountains, with no sea in sight for hundreds of miles - but I really liked the Lady, and even felt kinda proud to have worked on a ship that has provided this Island with a lifeline on so many occasions (i.e. whenever the other vessels couldn't go out - just get a copy of Jim Shepherd's "Lady of Mann - Last of her Line" and you'll know what I mean). She was the only ship the SP had that was really built for the Irish Sea, and now they are left with some aluminium vessels that were built for the mediterranean, and a floating skyscraper that needs concrete ballast to stay low enough in the water - great stuff.... Obviously, the need to satisfy the demands of investors and shareholders dictated her sale, but it's a shame to see a piece of maritime history gone - a ship, on which I felt more safe than on any of the ones left now, and which should have been kept, even if it would cost a bit more to update again and run... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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