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The Queen Mary in Long Beach, California was in need of a lifeline. It'll take five years and an experienced crew to overcome ~1 million sq. ft. (92,903.0 m²) of challenges aboard this iconic ship. Feature 42 NOVEMBER 2017 COATINGSPROMAG.COM F BY JACK INNIS PHOTOS COURTESY MAXON TECHNOLOGIES Coating Crew Throws the Queen Mary a Lifeline F ew visitors to the Queen Mar y get the opportunity to see much more than the ship's hotel, restaurants, event areas, and shops. Once regarded as the monarch of the high seas, the 1,019.5-foot (310.74 m), 1930s- era luxury liner officially retired from service in 1967 but extended her reign by serving as a floating tourist attraction in Long Beach, California. Queen Mar y is what old salts call "a fast ship," as in " fastened " to the docks. But decades of neglect had left the steel ship foundering in a sea of below-decks corrosion. Naval architects and marine engineers conducting a marine survey in late 2015, prior to the city of Long Beach awarding a long-term lease to Urban Commons, a privately held real estate investment and devel- opment firm, were shocked. e survey uncovered massive and widespread below-decks corrosion on hull plates, rusted- through support pillars, and rooms in which more than a foot (0.3 m) of water had stood for years. "Ships Rot Out" "is project was long overdue," said Josh Stofle of F. Roberts Construction, Inc., which supplied coating, welding, framing, drywall, and cosmetic painting services aboard Queen Mary. Stofle began ramrodding this project in January and has worked hand-in-hand with coatings manufacturer MAXON Technologies to battle rust on approximately 1 million square feet (92,903 m²) of steel. Although the 5-year project keeps his 15-man coatings crew busy all over the ship, Stofle regards Queen Mary's rusty underbelly as a very serious maritime threat. "Ships rot out from the inside," Stofle said. "ey're designed to have water touching exterior surfaces, but the interior is where they're going to rot out." Urban Commons' Construction Director Adam Grandorff couldn't agree more. e ink was barely dry on his company's 66-year lease when he began researching ways to battle Queen Mar y's corrosion crisis. MARINE STEEL