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Museum Update 24 August 2022

Support Veterans | Get Coffee

Attention lovers of coffee and veterans. Have we got an opportunity for you!

We’ve set a goal of raising $25,000 by the end of 2022 in support of Veterans West, the military and veterans affairs department of Pacific Battleship Center, and Don Francisco’s has stepped up to help us achieve it!

The first sixty (60) donors who contribute $350 or more to the campaign will receive “coffee for a year.”

“Coffee for a year” translates into two (2) bags or cans of beans or grounds per month, OR approximately one (1) single-serve coffee pod or espresso capsule per day for the whole year, delivered right to your home or office on a quarterly basis.

In addition, your first shipment includes two Don Francisco’s-branded mugs!

Click this button for more information and to sign up.

Battleship IOWA’s Humvee Does Auto Cross

We’re lucky to have fantastic community partners who are up for raising awareness of our mission in fun and creative ways.

Over the weekend, the National Museum of the Surface Navy had the chance to partake in the Porsche Club of America – LA Chapter’s Autocross event and take the iconic Humvee (HMMWV) around the track. Lap times may have been near the bottom of the standings, but we had a great time getting to meet and greet with a new group of potential Plank Owners.

See how the Humvee did by clicking the video link below.

Hull Preservation Update: Servicing Anodes

If you follow these updates, you know part of the way we keep Battleship IOWA’s hull sound is with what’s known as “impressed current cathodic protection.”

The easiest way to explain it is we have anodes that hang off the sides of the ship and put out a low-voltage electric current. This protective current changes the environment around the metal. When properly designed and applied, cathodic protection systems stop the corrosion process.

Every few months we have to get down to the waterline to check them to make sure they operate optimally. That means we have to put our small boat in the water, temporarily turn off the power to that system, and someone has to don thick rubber gloves to wipe off any grime that’s collected on them.

The servicing process ends up looking like an episode of Dirty Jobs, but it’s worth it.

These shots were taken on the port side of the ship. We’re working on starboard with our cofferdam right now. We’ll be moving overe to address the corrosion here as soon as possible.

Hull preservation is a never-ending process. If you’d like to support our efforts to keep Battleship IOWA safe so future generations can have the opportunity to experience her, click the button below.

Scuttlebutt Podcast | Episode 120

Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach lies on the Southern California coast between Long Beach and Huntington Beach.

Dating back to 1944, this 5,000-acre complex features 230 buildings, 128 ammunition depots, a wharf for loading and off-loading ships, a 900-acre salt marsh wildlife refuge, and all sorts of things that go ‘boom!’

In this podcast we get an insider’s glimpse into the only full-service weapons station on the west coast from Lt. Adam Tellez and MNC (Mineman Chief) Brian Chickering.

And we manage to refrain – mostly – from dropping too many mine puns.

Find Scuttlebutt where you get your podcasts or here:

Or click the photo below for the YouTube version.

Save The Date

This year’s Freedom of the Seas gala will be held Saturday, October 22nd. Interested in becoming a sponsor for the event? Click here.

Stay tuned for details about reservations and join us!

NOTE: If you prefer not to donate electronically, please mail your check to:
Attention: Development Department, 250 S. Harbor Blvd., San Pedro, CA 90731
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