If that was the one, he had some interesting stories about it. The Kennedy was originally supposed to be nuclear powered, but at some point late in the process, they decided to make it an oil-burner instead, purportedly to save money.
But, the late change meant that a lot of the mechanicals were in the "wrong" place, leading to a lot of jury-rigging and continuing maintenance headaches.
Plus, the unexpected exhaust stack was now too close to the radar antenna. Soot coats the antenna and degrades its performance, requiring cleaning or replacement more often than planned.
His contention was they had already spent far more money in extra maintenance than they saved by eliminating the nuclear reactor. And that was back in the mid-80's.
That "jury-rigging" is quite common among other ships as well. Repair parts aren't readily available and shipments sometimes take weeks to arrive when out at sea. It's pretty sad when you have to use a rag for an air filter.
The maintenence is underfunded for the Navy and it causes increased downtime for the machinery. The engineering that went into some of these ships just plain sucks. Valves constantly leak, gaskets and o-rings blow regularly, and the machinery doesn't seem to operate correctly when following the startup and operational instructions.
The Navy is the most important tool to keep America's wars on someone else's soil. It is imperative that they get the required funding in order to operate reliably. The Kennedy is past due it's time for decom. It's time for newer more effective ships.