They say a boat is really a hole in the water into which you pour money. Now, multiply that times 1,000 for each foot of a 40-year-old aircraft carrier.

A nonprofit group announced last week that it is still in the running to bring the decommissioned USS John F. Kennedy to the Portland harbor as a floating museum.

We’re not cheering.

Aside from being a completely incongruous addition to the quaint Portland waterfront, we cannot imagine how this venture would sustain itself, let alone thrive.

There are several of these floating aircraft carrier museums dotted around the country, including the USS Intrepid in New York City, which is undergoing a $60 million renovation, and the historic USS Midway, perhaps the most successful of these ventures, in San Diego.

Two others, one in Corpus Christi, Texas, the USS Lexington, and the USS Yorktown in Charleston, S.C., seem to struggle.

All four of those host cities are much larger than Portland and have year-round tourist industries.

We can’t speak for the City of Portland, but we feel strongly that the rest of the state should not be dragged into this project via support from state government. 

If the City of Portland really wants this boat, it should go it alone.