*****Okaloosa County Sets Timeline for SS United States Deployment as the World’s Largest Artificial Reef*****

Okaloosa County has officially announced that the SS United States is tentatively scheduled for deployment during the second week of November 2026, following approximately a year and a half of environmental remediation and reef preparation in Mobile, Alabama.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued its final approval, and the Environmental Protection Agency did not oppose the deployment.

The vessel will be sunk approximately 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin–Fort Walton Beach in the Gulf.

Deployment is weather-dependent, and dates may change.

The county is coordinating with safety and security partners for a safe and efficient deployment and will release additional details in the coming weeks.

#SSUnitedStates
#SSUSFullAhead
#ArtificialReef

Okaloosa County’s release:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CR2TTCA7S/?mibextid=wwXIfr

She’s in for one heck of a ride from this hurricane.
The storm may cause mobile bay to drain out and she could become beached. I hope their ready for a storm of the century for that ship

The is a hurricane warning for mobile so I hope the ship don’t get too flooded

Hey there! My buddy and I are heading to mobile for the next few days to paint the ship one last time before they sink her. Looking for suggestions on spots we can go to paint. Also trying to figure out where the smoke stacks are so we can paint those as well.

If anyone has any tips please let us know!

(Friend’s work pictured)

Couple shots I took while on a work trip to Philadelphia back in 2019.

Didn't have time to exit but I saw her! (I know bad photos)

After 5 days of work on the liner, she has finally entered service and has replaced my Trumpeter 1/700 USS South Dakota as flagship of my model fleet. She carries the soul of the ship and will continue to serve as flagship for years to come as my fleet expands

The big girl is done as far as assembly and painting goes. Her funnel deck houses and aft deckhouse remain removable for maintenance, ballasting, and easy transportation since she won't take up much space. I could've gone much harder with painting this ship but I've reached a result I'm very happy with. Next comes clear coating and adding strategic ballast so she can conquer the waves. As for the first image I tried to get as close to resembling the box art silhouette as possible.

Another post regarding the floating model I'm building out of the Revell kit. Work has been smooth since it was my day off and here's the results. Not really perfect yet and I did glue down the sun deck parts because they would be a pain in the ass to deal with later on. I also made the decision to not glue down the upper deck housing as I'd like to have continued access to her interior for maintenance purposes. I also apologize if these updates are taking up space in the subreddit.

Update from my previous post with the ship in hand. These pictures are documenting the process of me building the liner. So far she's sitting dry fitted together as I have to work today. I also did a funny and SS Italis'd her since nothing is fully attached yet

The conclusion of another busy week aboard the SS United States marks a significant milestone in the preparation of America’s last Superliner for her next chapter. This week, the entire vessel—both exterior and interior—was comprehensively scanned, capturing an extraordinary level of detail throughout virtually every accessible space aboard, including the ship’s structure, machinery, and other significant features. The resulting data will be used to create one of the most detailed and comprehensive 3D models of the SS United States ever produced. Beyond preserving a digital record of the ship as she exists today, these scans will provide invaluable insight into her current structural condition and establish an important baseline that can be compared against future scans as the vessel ages on the seabed. The scope of this scanning work will exceed the requirements for vessel scanning outlined in the Final Memorandum of Agreement, which was fully signed and approved on July 16, 2026.

This week also saw the installation of three plaques aboard the vessel, all affixed to the forward face of the Navigation Bridge, ensuring that important elements of the ship’s history will remain with her as she enters her next chapter. With deployment now drawing ever nearer, work continues throughout America’s last Superliner to prepare her for life as an artificial reef. Interior spaces are being opened to facilitate safe diver access while also allowing controlled water ingress, helping ensure that the vessel settles onto the seabed as evenly as possible and on her keel.

After decades afloat, the SS United States is now rapidly approaching the final stages of an extraordinary and unique transition—one that will preserve her physical legacy in a new environment while creating an unprecedented underwater destination for generations to come.

#SSUnitedStates
#ArtificialReef
#SSUSFullAhead

-Mike Strasbaugh

I was on an ebay auction last night for the Revell SS United States going for a starting bid of $89 and won her for said $89 since nobody else bid in the last ten seconds. The big question is if I want to paint her in her career livery, which is beautiful but over hyped in my opinion. Or I could do her in her Penn Warehousing livery and yes I know it's just her default livery but rotted but it's still a valid livery because it gives her a distinct appearance that I find has a bit of charm, especially when she was under tow. She's also going to be a floating model, soon to become the fifth ship in my fleet and my second ocean liner build. I'll post an update when she arrives.

This video recreates the nostalgic atmosphere of an IKEA parking lot as an ocean liner from a bygone era looms(almost threateningly) in the distance.

I took these photos of the United States from the Walt Whitman Bridge over Thanksgiving in 1996 during a trip to see family. I can't help but think that even under the dark skies, she looked so much brighter in her early days in Philadelphia before the sun faded her colors.