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NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ― Finally pulled free of its Hudson River anchorage after 24 years as a floating military museum, the historic aircraft carrier USS Intrepid was suddenly on the move again -- sailing majestically through New York harbor, bound for a long-awaited overhaul at a New Jersey shipyard.

Just getting the 36,000-ton ship to move was a major triumph -- not to mention a relief -- for Intrepid's owners and the tugboat operators, who had to scrub a previous attempt on Nov. 6, when the carrier's rudder and four giant screws dug into bottom mud, thwarting the efforts of six powerful tugboats.

After a three-week dredging operation that removed nearly 40,000 cubic yards of muck, four tugs accomplished the task on Tuesday.

Towed stern-first by tugboats and escorted by a fireboat shooting streams of red, white and blue, the aging sea warrior paused at the World Trade Center site to unfurl a giant American flag in remembrance of the 2,749 people who perished in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The city that has come to know the Intrepid as a permanent gray presence and a popular tourist attraction drawing 700,000 visitors a year also paused. People watched from sidewalks, cars and skyscraper windows as the storied veteran of three wars inched away from its dock and headed down river.

"I love that ship. I live nearby and I have seen it every day for years," said Norm Jacob, an actor. "I hope they fix it up good and bring it right back here."

The Intrepid later sailed past the Statue of Liberty and was due in mid-afternoon at Bayonne, N.J., where it will enter a shipyard to be "renovated and refurbished," as Intrepid officials put it, over the next two years. The $60 million project will include upgrading museum facilities and opening up more public areas in the ship.

Looking worn and weary after nearly a quarter of a century at the same location, the 64-year-old ship was clearly ready for some "boatox."

Pier 86, the ship's permanent home since it became the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in 1982, will be demolished and rebuilt, and some of its 20-plus vintage aircraft are to be restored as well, officials said. Several of the planes, some in white shrink-wrap, remained on deck.

There were some uncertain moments Tuesday, when it appeared the carrier might again defy two powerful "tractor tugs" pulling with cables at the stern and another pushing the bow, trying to "wiggle and rock" it loose, tugboat chief pilot Jeff McAllister said.

Brian Fournier, a tug engineer brought in from Portland, Maine, to help, said the addition of another tug at the stern made the critical difference. "We knew we had momentum then, and soon she started to move out," he said.

"This old baby is moving!" exulted Bill White, president of the Intrepid Foundation, who had remained outwardly optimistic after the Nov. 6 failure. This time, the event was done without politicians, military bands and other trappings that had added to the earlier embarrassment.

"It's like it used to be, only better. There's no bloodshed," said Felix Novelli, one of several World War II crew members who volunteer as museum guides on their former ship. They cheered and exchanged high-fives when the carrier finally began to move.

As a tugboat sounded its horn in celebration, some 200 spectators also cheered and applauded on an adjoining pier in the 30-degree weather.

"This is history. She's going to go this time," predicted Jim Blanchard, 59, of Yonkers, who owns his own boat, and got up at 5 a.m. to watch the Intrepid operation.

Tuesday's second attempt, like the first, was timed to take advantage of the morning's high tide. Even then, the two "tractor tugs" churned doggedly at half-power for half an hour to get the engineless warship to move -- first inches, then feet, before it suddenly seemed to stop resisting and float free.

The tugs hauled the carrier into the mid-river ship channel, nudged the bow to line up with the shoreline and began the five-mile trip to Bayonne.

Intrepid, one of the Navy's legendary Essex-class "fast carriers," saw action in every major battle in the last two years of the Pacific War. In helping to destroy Japan's powerful Imperial Navy, it survived five kamikaze suicide plane attacks and lost 270 crew members.

It later served off Korea and Vietnam and as a recovery ship for NASA astronauts before being decommissioned in the late 1970s. Destined for the scrapyard, it was rescued by New York developer Zachary Fisher who turned it into a floating museum.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)