Old Ironsides sails again:USS Constitution goes to sea

Mail Online ^ | 8/19/12 | Associated Press

[mdittmar]

The U.S. Navy's oldest commissioned warship sailed under its own power for just the second time in more than a century to commemorate the battle that won it the nickname 'Old Ironsides.'

The USS Constitution, which was first launched in 1797, was tugged from its berth in Boston Harbor on Sunday to the main deepwater pathway into the harbor. It then set out to open seas for a 10-minute cruise.

The short trip marked the day two centuries ago when the Constitution bested the British frigate HMS Guerriere in a fierce battle during the War of 1812. It follows a three-year restoration project and is the first time the Constitution has been to sea on its own since its 200th birthday in 1997.

[tanknetter]

As wonderful as the Wendell Holmes poem is, I’ve always found Isaac Hull’s poem about the Constitution MUCH more stirring.

“The SHIP! Never has she failed us ...”

[tanknetter]

That'll buff right out, Guerriere...

As classic as the Birch painting is, this and this give a much better representation of Constitution having made Guerriere her b*tch.

[Venturer]

Well the story has a lot of BS in it, but that’s ok I guess, she wasn’t under tow for a while,but she certainly wsn’t any power, there was no wind in the sails I saw pictures of , just 3 slack sails and the spars were empty of the 36 they mentioned in the story.

Still it’s a great day for “Old Ironsides”.

[tanknetter]

Ugh. Must have the Constitution/Guerriere a little too much on the brain. That was actually William Bainbridge, NOT Hull. And it was a toast, not a poem (although it is rather poetic)

To wit:

“... [T]he ship! Never has she failed us! Never has her crew failed in showing their allegiance and belief in the country they served, or the honor they felt, in belonging to the ship that sheltered them, and on whose decks they fought, where many gave their lives. To have commanded the Constitution is a signal honor; to have been one of her crew, in no matter how humble a capacity, is an equal one. Her name is an inspiration. Not only do her deeds belong to our Naval record, but she herself is possessed of a brave personality. In light weathers, in storm or hurricane, or amid the smoke of battle, she responded with alacrity and obedience, and seemed ever eager to answer the will of her commander. May the citizens of this country, in gratitude, see that she, like her namesake and prototype, will never be forgotten. Her commanders in the future, as in the past, will see to it that her flag never shall be lowered. She was conceived in patriotism; gloriously has she shown her valor. Let her depart in glory if the fates so decree; but let her not sink and decay into oblivion.”

[Dartman]

You are exactly right. As to outrunning more formidable ships, I was surprised to learn that in some engagements, outrunning them could involve DAYS ! They could be almost within range of each other for lengthy periods of time, but used incredible ingenuity to keep their distance to fight another day.

[Elsiejay]

“I have seen pics of the powder room, completely sheathed in copper so no sparks can ignite the magazine.”

From recent reading about the War of 1812 and those marvelously effective fighting ships and their crews, I believe I learned that wooden hulls were largely sheathed externally in copper as a defence against barnacles.
The powder rooms, of course, would have required inboard sheathing as well. I’d like to have seen the procedures for producing huge tonnages of sheet copper at that time. Did they have roller mills?

[Paul R.]

Indeed, per Wikipedia, the British Admiralty eventually ordered that only ships of the line or squadrons were to take on even single U.S. frigates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution

If the pics posted above and here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution_vs_HMS_Guerriere

are accurate, the British Admiralty had good reason...

[Eye of Unk]

On one of my wooden sailing ships the Cutty Sark I think I picked up a roll of copper sheath material, its very thin, comes on a roll, bought it at a fabric store.

I cut out strips with a paper cutter for the width of my planks and then embossed it with scribe lines to simulate sheets of copper nailed to the hull, if the scale was bigger I would have used real nails, the copper is adhesive backed, looks OK except it is obviously brand new with no aged patina or paint over it.

[fuzzthatwuz]

You might try a wash with vinegar on a scrap piece of copper. I too built a large model of the Cutty Sark, but I just painted her hull with copper colored paint. Your use of copper sheeting is an excellent concept!

[Eye of Unk]

I was thinking of getting a ponce wheel from Micro-Mark so I could roll a line of simulated nails. I don’t know if Joans fabrics and Crafts still sells those rolls of copper what with the price of copper, I bought that roll about ten years ago.

Now I have seen some very very nice wooden models of Old Ironsides, but the problem is they are mostly from Vietnam or some place and the scale is either off or the authenticity, a real scale period piece in wood, brass and copper is spendy.

That is for an as built, I have catalogs for kits from solid hull to plank on hull. I have four large wooden sailing ships, each are from overseas and are from 3-4 feet long, the Cutty Sark, Flying Cloud, a four master cargo sailing ship, and the schooner Bluenose which is the largest and has the best hull finish.

[knarf]

My comment #4 was pulled because I used a pic not allowed was ... and still is;

I know it's traditional to refer to ships as "she"

But

THAT is one bad boy and I think most properly called

MR Constitution.

Imagine that bearin' down on ye ...

[PghBaldy]

Perhaps you are right about the copper and barnicles. My father was a chemist and a businessman, and many years ago he worked on copper sheathing to fight/retard barnicles (can’t remember a lot of the details as I was a child, and my brother destroyed or discarded my father’s records).