NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — Wednesday afternoon, a massive crane began removing a 40,000 pound foremast from the North Carolina Battleship.
The mast, cut into three pieces in order to to be removed safely, is the first historic mass to be cut down and repurposed this way in the United States. According to Battleship Assistant Director Chris Vargo, the last battleship mast to even be removed was just after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Because of record high rainfall and hurricane force winds, crews need to repair and repaint the structure. They’ll do this just feet away from the boat, potentially finishing the project in May.
“It suffered a lot of damage throughout the last couple hurricanes,” said Vargo. “We received a million dollars from the National Park Service as part of a grant program to repair it. And the easiest, safest way to do that is to put it on shore.”
The Battleship stands at more than 115 feet tall, and will remain open throughout the renovation.