Old Ironsides, New Ironsides
Her thunder shook the mighty deep,
And once again she’s saved…
We think Oliver Wendell Holmes would be okay with our riffing on his iconic poem, ‘Old Ironsides’. After all, those 24 lines, written in 1830, are credited with the first rescue of, as he put it, "The Eagle of the sea from the harpies of the land." Now USS Constitution is being ‘saved’ once again with a regular haulout and refit at the Charlestown Navy Yard, just a short distance from her permanent Boston waterfront berth where half a million visitors a year walk "her decks once red with hero’s blood, where knelt the vanquished foe."
Well, maybe not the exact decks. As all wooden boat aficionados know, the years take their toll and wooden vessels all need to have bits and pieces replaced from time to time. For the 207-ft (LOD) Constitution, so many bits and pieces have been replaced that only an estimated 10 to 15% of the original wooden DNA remains from when she first slid down the ways in Boston in 1797.
Constitution is still a commissioned Navy ship (the world’s oldest), and as such has a captain, and regular Navy crew who perform normal upkeep. But every couple of decades, she’s hauled out for more extensive work. For the latest $15 million job, the ship went into drydock at the Navy Yard on May 18 and will likely stay there until at least the fall of 2017.
Wood used in the restoration has been sourced just as it was in the old days: scouts go out into the woods and look for it. Okay, it’s a little more choreographed these days. The white oak that will be used in the refit was sourced from trees growing at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indiana. About 60 of the big trees will be needed for the restoration. (Compare that to about 1,500 trees to build the ship the first time.) With an eye to the future, a number of white oaks on the Indiana base have been earmarked for use in Constitution’s next refit, due in 2035 or so.
USS Constitution will remain accessible to the public — via both viewing areas and (occasionally limited) onboard tours — during her layup. So you can still capture that Kodak moment (do they still call them that?) with her bell or wheel. Not in the area but still interested? You can follow the restoration via a ‘restoration cam‘. For more general information, check out the ship’s regular website: www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org.