Posted on 08/31/2014 3:09:56 AM PDT by blueplum
Old Ironsides sailed through Boston Harbor Friday for the last time until 2018, as the 216-year-old warship prepares to undergo a three-year restoration beginning early next year.
The USS Constitution has sailed unassisted by a tug boat only twice since 1881, in 1997 and 2012. This summer it sailed with the help of a tug, but still moved by its own power. Friday was the final unassisted sail until the ship has completed its restoration.
Aside from making the usual repairs for wear and tear, the restoration aims to return Old Ironsides to an image of its 1812 self...
...For this set of repairs — during which the ship will have weather-worn areas strengthened and the copper plates of her hull replaced, making her more “seaworthy” — the original blueprints of the Constitution’s sister ship, the USS President, will be referenced for accuracy.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonglobe.com ...
She’s a beautiful ship. The USN and the United States in general are lucky to have her still in commission.
“Of interest” ping
Thanks! Perhaps Gunner A and I can plan a visit when the restoration is complete.
I saw the headline and thought it was just another Odumbo initiative.
Yep. The globe doesn’t mind your thinking that
Otherwise they’d have written it correctly and said USS Constitution
I’ve been on the ship several times. People were a lot smaller in those days. Very tight quarters indeed.
The double helm wheel is from a ship named Java.
With the modern connotations of “java”, one can say the ship is steered by coffee.
Will it get to its destination faster and more directly than one steered by rum?
Built with S. Carolina live oak.
So tough that cannon balls would bounce off her.
Hence the nickname
Old Ironsides
Faster, but maybe a little jittery.
Fasten your seatbelt - it’s going to be a bumpy ride!
The headline freaked me out. Oh, it’s the ship!
Lol, me too
I came here to read about how Obama was going to scrap the current Constitution of the United States and issue a new one by Imperial Decree.
But instead, it's about a boat.
I read the headline and thought it was an old article from the end of 2008 before obama took, then re-took the oath of office.
I suspect there’s very little of the original ship left after all these years. I’m sure the restorations have been as historically accurate as possible, but it’s not the same ship any more than Lenin’s mummy is the real Vladimir.
“I suspect there’s very little of the original ship left...”
My wife and I toured the ship recently. If I’m not mistaken, the guide said that 90-95% of the ship had been replaced.
That being said, there was a table on the main deck from which a Marine was selling American flags for $25. He would unfurl the flag, attach it to a line, and then the “paying guest” would haul the flag up to the top of the mast, let it wave in the wind briefly, then bring it back down. The Marine and the paying guest would then fold the flag properly. (Lots of photo ops along the way.)
I don’t care how much of that ship has been replaced...we now own an American flag that has flown on the USS Constitution.
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