The following is a response to the recent press and media attention surrounding an article in the Houston Chronicle about the Elissa being unseaworthy:

ELISSA – the Hull Truth

As director of the Texas Seaport Museum and the 1877 barque ELISSA, I would like to join with ELISSA’s immediate past director, Kurt Voss, in thanking everyone for their concern about ELISSA. Kurt and I would like to give context and clarification to some of the rumors and reports that are floating around about ELISSA’s current state and future.

Until this year, ELISSA has conducted day sails annually for the past 29 years – quite a remarkable accomplishment for a 133-year-old sailing ship. Being “not seaworthy,” as recently reported in the press, does not mean she is sinking or in a neglected state – all it means is that she needs to affect some repairs to areas of her hull plating to which the U.S. Coast Guard has called attention. The suspect plating is less than 16% of her entire hull plating. She is indeed facing considerable challenges, but nothing on the scale of her 1975-1982 restoration. Once before, Galveston Historical Foundation brought together the talent and commitment necessary to get her sailing. We’ll do it again. With all the scuttlebutt that’s been flying, however, we want to provide some clarification.

The ship’s hull was originally built of riveted iron. About 25% of the iron was replaced with welded steel in Greece during 1977-78. That steel—which was of the highest quality was custom made in Houston, Texas by Armco Steel Company, to specifications supplied by restoration director Walter Rybka. Over the years, about another 10% to 15% of the original iron hull plates have been replaced. Most of that replacement was made necessary by a 1984 collision, when a floating dry-dock broke its moorings in a storm and drifted down on the ship, crumpling the stern. Those repairs were made with riveted steel.

U.S. Coast Guard regulations require that ELISSA be dry-docked twice every five years, which has been done religiously since 1981. During every dry-docking the ship is thoroughly inspected by the Coast Guard, as well as the professional staff of Galveston Historical Foundation. For the past decade, representatives of the American Bureau of Shipping have also participated in those inspections. Isolated corrosion has been found and remedied from time to time, occasionally requiring partial replacement of a few of the hull plates, but no widespread problems were ever encountered. In short, ELISSA’s hull below the waterline has always been thoroughly maintained.

When the ship was hauled this past January, the first sign of a problem was the disappearance of an unprecedented number of the 55 sacrificial zinc anodes scattered across the underwater surface of the hull (these are used to control galvanic and electrolytic corrosion). Although a certain number of anodes are replaced at every dry-docking, their rates of deterioration were never before a surprise. After water-blasting the hull to remove marine growth, more problems surfaced — problems that had never been seen before. Inspectors found many small pits (some of which penetrated entirely through the hull), as well as numerous wasted rivets (another first). Upon further investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard, GHF staff, representatives from the American Bureau of shipping, and Kurt Voss (who has seen the ship out of the water at virtually every dry-docking since 1981), all concurred that what they saw was severe electrolytic corrosion and that it taken place since the last dry-docking in January 2008.

After a professional marine electrical contractor verified that the shipboard electrical system was not the source of the problem, a few temporary repairs were made and the ship returned to her berth in Galveston. Because ELISSA is a National Historic Landmark, the ship’s management decided that a comprehensive repair plan should be formulated, one that would utilize input from the best experts in the field of historic ships, who, in turn, would incorporate methods that meet the highest standards of maritime preservation. Financial realities may dictate certain compromises, but we plan to do our best to meet those lofty goals and retain as much historic fabric as possible while utilizing modern ship repair methods and materials.

At present, this panel of experts is in the process of developing detailed specifications. That is the primary reason why the ship remains temporarily “grounded.” Rather than use expedient modern repair methods, GHF’s goal is to retain as much of the original hull as possible and use traditional construction methods on any plates that are too far gone to save. That will be a time-consuming and expensive process, but the ELISSA deserves nothing less.

The million dollar question is: what caused such severe and unprecedented electrolytic corrosion? The damage done definitely was not caused by neglect or poor maintenance (the ELISSA volunteers donate over 30,000 hours a year in maintaining ELISSA in sailing trim), and whatever the source, it happened since January 2008. Professional experts are pursuing the answers, but all signposts point to the destruction caused by Hurricane Ike in September 2008. Live electricity was in the water near the ship for an undetermined length of time (please remember that only essential personnel were allowed on the Island until nearly two weeks after the hurricane struck). At present, the ship’s shore power system is being scrutinized for any anomalies and bi-weekly electrical potential readings of the hull and water are being performed and logged. Regardless of what turns out to be the culprit, professional marine electricians have determined that the problem has been arrested and no further damage is taking place. Logically, whatever the source, the experts agree that the electrolytic corrosion that attacked ELISSA’s hull was a direct consequence of Hurricane Ike.

Galveston Historical Foundation has launched a capital campaign to raise the necessary funds to get ELISSA sailing again. The Foundation has employed professional fundraisers to work with its staff and volunteers to find the $3 million necessary to make the hull sound. For further information please contact Jamie White at jamie.white@galvestonhistory.org . If you’d like to lend a hand immediately, please text ELISSA to 50555 to make a $10 donation through your cell phone. Or visit our website and make a donation to Keep ELISSA Sailing campaign at Keep ELISSA Sailing.

Our goal is to have ELISSA sailing by the fall of 2012. Given what Galveston Historical Foundation has accomplished with this ship in the past, you can be confident that this goal will be met.

James L. White Kurt D. Voss
Director Immediate past Director
1877 Barque ELISSA 1877 Barque ELISSA
Texas Seaport Museum Texas Seaport Museum
http://www.tsm-elissa.org