They’ve restored it many times over the years, IIRC.
I watched it sail away to dry dock. I wish I could see her come home.
There’s very little left of the original ship, I suspect. Still, it’s on my bucket list of things to see ... If only it wasn’t in Boston.
I think I read the masts are Oregon Douglas Fir?
Weren’t the Barbary Pirates the reason that the USS Constitution was built?
And it is a fact that the shot bounced off her sides.
She is made of Live Oak.
Gonna find the youtube of them testing that fact.
Paul Revere, at age 65, set up a new copper rolling mill to do copper plating and other copper pieces for the ship.
100 years later, a Navy officer examining the ship found that every single one of Revere’s copper bolts had stretched to the limit, but not one had broken.
I saw it after a previous restoration. Late 70s?
The constellation, in Baltimore was renovated to include an elevator to make it ada compliant... a real travesty of history
I toured all six New England states in March 1980. Was in Boston for St. Patty’s Day. I’ve never seen so many blue-eyed white people in one city. Went to see Old Ironsides and took the guided tour. Well worth it. I was surprised by the low ceiling on the gun deck. The guide explained that the average male height at the time was around 5’6”. At that time I was 5’9” and had to walk stooped over. Saw the surgeon’s corner on the gun deck port side aft. Floorboards were permanently stained by the blood of the Americans who were wounded there. One of the surgeons who served on the Constitution still holds the record for fastest amputation of a leg. Think about that, the way our forefathers fought and died back then which made it possible for us to live as free Americans today. It was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had. God Bless those men!
I doubt there is an original timber.
I was in Boston four years ago and I wanted badly to see the Constitution along with other historic sites, but it was October and Obama had shut down the government over the budget so everything was closed. Now I’ll be back in Boston for a day again and want badly to see the Constitution and other historic sites, but it will be in October again and there’s a chance that Congress will shut down the government over the budget again closing everything down again. I can’t win.