The Falls of Clyde continues to list in its berth at Pier 7 and rack up millions of dollars worth of repair costs as Bishop Museum officials try to figure out what to do with the world's last remaining four-masted, steel-hulled, full-rigged ship.

The future of the Falls of Clyde ranges from finding some rain- maker around the world capable of generating a minimum of $30 million — perhaps the Bishop Museum's biggest fundraising campaign ever — to getting rid of the beloved ship that serves as the centerpiece of the Bishop Museum's Hawai'i Maritime Center.

"All options are being considered," said Blair Collis, vice president of public operations for the museum, who directly oversees the Hawai'i Maritime Center. "I love that ship. But it's 128 years old and in bad shape. We don't want to sink the ship. We don't want to lose the ship. But it's going to take a lot of money and a lot of effort to save it. Something's going to have to happen soon because the condition continues to deteriorate."

The Falls of Clyde is listed as a National Historic Landmark.

In 2002, museum officials were awarded a $300,000 grant under the Save America's Treasure program with a matching $300,000 gift.

The money was used to stabilize, restore and maintain the Falls of Clyde following standards approved by the National Park Service and state Historic Preservation Officer.

In April, as repair crews continued to deal with problems ranging from termites, corrosion, paint and damage to its ballast tanks, museum officials closed the Falls of Clyde to the 30,000 or so people who had been visiting it each year adjacent Aloha Tower.

Museum officials hoped to reopen the ship last year but its condition continues to make it dangerous for visitors, Collis said.

"Our paramount concern is the safety of the public," Collis said. "Until we restore the ship or figure out what we'll do we don't want to open the ship to the public at this time."

Collis said recent repairs make it unlikely that the Falls of Clyde could simply sink in its berth.

The Bishop Museum currently spends "a couple hundred thousand dollars per year" in annual maintenance on the ship, Collis said. After potential repairs, it would have to "double or triple the maintenance budget," he said.

Current estimates call for at least $30 million in repairs to the Falls of Clyde. But the estimates could jump if it's taken into drydock, Collis said.

"Drydocking itself costs millions," Collis said.

OTHER PROJECTS

At the same time, museum officials are still only $15 million toward their $21 million capital campaign to renovate historic Hawaiian Hall on the museum's grounds. The museum's science adventure center cost $19 million to build.

"Repairing the Falls of Clyde would be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, campaigns ever for the museum," Collis said. "And we're not alone. Other major capital campaigns are under way around Hawai'i for the same money we would be going after."

Jeanette Ainlay quit her job at the Hawai'i Maritime Center in frustration over the Falls of Clyde on Feb. 8.

"I'm very angry — very angry — because she's just been neglected," said Ainlay, who led school groups at the Hawai'i Maritime Center. "There was no reason for her to fall into this state. It's a very long vessel — over 260 feet — and there's no budget to maintain her. She's just been terribly neglected. The poor old lady's just been left to sit there and rot."

Ainlay plans to ask museum officials for an accounting of pledges and donations that have been made to the Falls of Clyde over the years.

She doesn't blame Collis or Timothy E. Johns, who took over as the museum's president, director and chief executive officer in October.

"The problem goes back seven or eight years before Tim Johns and Collis," said Ainlay, who started as a Hawaii Maritime Center volunteer 20 years ago. "That's when people started to ignore it."

Ainlay hopes that a miracle happens and someone — or some organization — comes forward to raise enough money to save the ship. Or at least agree to pay to have it shipped somewhere else where it will be restored.

FEW OPTIONS AVAILABLE

But, in her heart, Ainlay fears that multi-million-dollar costs will leave museum officials with no choice but to simply scuttle the Falls of Clyde.

"I think they're going to sink her eventually because they can't afford to keep her," Ainlay said. "Who else is going to take her?"

She also fears that the Falls of Clyde will slip into oblivion without the kind of fight that the late Advertiser columnist Bob Krauss would have won.

Krauss, who died in 2006, campaigned to bring the Falls of Clyde from the Mainland to Hawai'i in the 1960s in his Advertiser columns and in person. He also contributed thousands of dollars of his own money to restore and save it.

The Hawai'i Maritime Center was able to hold a mortgage-burning ceremony in 2005 to mark the end of a campaign to eliminate the center's $1.4 million debt thanks in large part to Krauss' $100,000 donation.

KRAUSS' CONTRIBUTIONS

His last book was about the Falls of Clyde and Krauss' ashes remain aboard the ship in a special cabin dedicated in his memory and containing some of his artifacts, Ainlay said.

"Bob would never have let this happen," Ainlay said. "He was on the board of directors and he was on their backs all of the time. He even paid off the mortgage."

Ainlay's frustration grew when an assessor came aboard two weeks ago looking at what pieces of the ship — such as the masts' cross-beams — would have to be removed before potentially moving it.

"No one would tell me anything," Ainlay said. "We have these men coming into these premises wandering all around looking at the ship. You say, 'What's going on?' They say, 'Nothing.' "

Collis said that museum officials hired the assessor because they need to know all of the potential costs involved to make an informed decision.

"I can't even tow it to Pier 6 from Pier 7 without extra insurance coverage," Collis said. "There are all kinds of costs. If we're going to formulate a public appeal and ask for a minimum of $30 million, that involves getting enough information together to be accurate as to where the money's going."

The peak of the Hawai'i Maritime Center's popularity came just before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when about 50,000 people visited the center.

Most people also walked aboard the Falls of Clyde.

"The community does love it," Collis said. "And I think that losing it would definitely affect attendance. But it's hard to say to what degree. But right now, we've got to concentrate on what to do with the ship and not on the attendance."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.