Ready for another 200 years - from gCaptain:
America’s Oldest Commissioned Warship Refloated After Two-Year Restoration
America’s oldest commissioned warship, USS Constitution, was finally refloated on Sunday following a two-year, multi-million dollar restoration at the historic Charlestown Navy Yard, located at the Boston National Historical Park.
USS Constitution entered the yard’s Dry Dock 1 on May 18, 2015, and since then ship restorers and teams of Constitution Sailors have worked side-by-side to bring Old Ironsides back to her glory.
The restoration included the replacement of 100 hull planks and the required caulking, the re-building of the ship’s cutwater on the bow, as well as the on-going preservation and repair of the ship’s rigging, upper masts and yards. One of the biggest tasks in the restoration was the replacement of Constitution’s copper sheathing below the waterline. Copper sheathing has covered the lower hull since her launch in 1797, as protection against ship worms that could damage the wooden hull.
Quite the bit of American history. She was instrumental in the Barbary wars against the Muslim pirates and slave-traders.
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