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And I really hated the davits painted black,...
Russ
Brian
quote:Originally posted by Brian_O:The "pearl grey" hull was a disaster, both visually and maintenance-wise.Brian
My family did a L.A.-Australia cruise on her in 1982 (or '83) when she had the pebble (or pearl) grey hull and she was quite a sight (even tied up in L.A.). Her entire hull was covered in great streaks of rust and I don't recall ever seeing anyone even attempting to clean or paint it. The ONLY time she looked good w/it was when she left Southampton on her first post Falklands voyage-it was downhill after that. I think Cunard maintenance team could handle it today but not in the early 1980s.
Rego007
quote:Originally posted by lasuvidaboy:My family did a L.A.-Australia cruise on her in 1982 (or '83) when she had the pebble (or pearl) grey hull and she was quite a sight (even tied up in L.A.).
My family did a L.A.-Australia cruise on her in 1982 (or '83) when she had the pebble (or pearl) grey hull and she was quite a sight (even tied up in L.A.).
That would have been 1983. QE2's only foray into the Pacific with her "pearl grey" hull was her 1983 Circle Pacific cruise. The experiment lasted from August 1982 to June 1983.
P.S. QE2's 1983 Circle Pacific cruise was covered by Alan Whicker in a 6-hour series he did for BBC TV. It was shown on PBS in the USA.
quote:Originally posted by Rego007:I've heard others also mention the difficulties with the light grey hulls, particularly on the Rotterdam (V). While I can understand the difficulty of matching the grey paint resulting in the "patchy" appearance, why is the rust such an issue? (?).Rego007
Grey comes in different shades and in cool and warm tones (blues and browns) plus add natural fading and you can see why there is a problem w/matching new and existing paint also white is much easier to match and blend compared to darker colors.
The problem w/rust on a ship is just a lack of maintenance and in the past keeping a liner or cruise ship pristine was not a top priority as it is today. Marine paint or coatings today are also far superior today which helps cruise lines keep their ships looking good. As an example, QM2 can cross the Atlantic and have a very short turn around time in Southampton or New York w/out the need of paint crews constantly touching up her paint.
The 52-year-old BRITANIS looked positively gleaming next to her!
Rich
quote:Originally posted by Linerrich:I did a WB crossing on QE2 in late April, 1983 while she had the grey hull. Here is how she looked upon our arrival in New York, May 4th, 1983:The 52-year-old BRITANIS looked positively gleaming next to her!Rich
And that was on a good day w/the pebble grey paint! Can you imagine a cruise ship today pulling into port w/so much deferred maintenance?? Not even Canberra (or most ships scheduled for breaking) on her final voyage to the breakers looked that bad-she actually looked quite good.
[ 03-14-2007: Message edited by: joe at travelpage ]
quote:Originally posted by Brian_O:The "pearl grey" hull was a disaster, both visually and maintenance-wise.....
I went to see her that Sunday she sailed on her first eastbound post war crossing. I thought it ironic that with the gray hull she looked like she was a troopship more than ever before. She certainly looked like she had been through a war. I saw her again that December in Boston. She was still in gray, but seemed in overall much better shape. I was frankly very happy when she went back to her original blue/black in 1983.
I wonder how they can do this with NCL's 'Hull Art'?
quote:Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:You often see crew members touching up the hull of their ships with paint, while in port.
I guess QE2s maintenance staff were napping while the ship was in port.
quote:Originally posted by lasuvidaboy:I guess QE2s maintenance staff were napping while the ship was in port.
Actually, in Cunard's defense, the paint crews were out there, attempting a 'touch-up' job:
I don't understand why Cunard had such a hard time with the grey hull. Just about every single Military/Navy ship that touches water has the same grey hull.
quote:Originally posted by Liner Enthusiast:I don't understand why Cunard had such a hard time with the grey hull. Just about every single Military/Navy ship that touches water has the same grey hull.
I think the 'pebble grey' is actually quite a bit lighter than the military grey seen on most naval ships. In some photos, the grey on QE2 almost looked white in bright direct sunlight.
As for the problems w/keeping her paint up, I think it just was not a priority for Cunard at that time and the proof is in the above photos. Other lines at the time managed to keep their ships in good condition but QE2's paintwork USUALLY looked unkept until the late 1980s. In comparison, I cruised on Rotterdam V, the grey hulled Sagafjord and Vistafjord several times and they all looked very well cared for-even close-up from the tenders.
Elad
Phil.
quote:Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:You often see crew members touching up the hull of their ships with paint, while in port.I wonder how they can do this with NCL's 'Hull Art'?
Aren't the graphics on NCL'S ships some sort of giant sticker type thing like what they wrap public buses in? If so I would think they would be sort of matinentence free.
quote:Originally posted by Ernst:I remember having seen rust on her (dark) hull - but was it really that bad?
Traditionally the point of painting a hull a dark color is that it conceals rust, markings from tugs and is just easier to maintain. QE2s hull paint was never in great shape (or her superstructure for that matter) until the late 1980s. Having sailed on her several times in the 1970s and 80s I can assure you that she usually looked a little worn when approached from a tender. I am not talking about a bit of rust around the anchor pockets but large streaks ALL over the hull. That all seemed to change in the late 1980s when exterior maintenance was much improved and she has looked well cared for ever since.
[ 03-24-2007: Message edited by: joe at travelpage ]
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