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Renaissance of Old lronsides By Commander Louis J. Gulliver PROJECT in wooden ship re- A construction that had its in- ception seven years and six months ago is now within a few weeks of final completion. The United States frigate CONSTITUTION is about ready to ve commissioned again as a ship of the American navy. Thus comes to an end an endeavor that has engaged the in- terest, the support, the good wishes, and the financial resources of very many thousands of men, women and children throughout the length and breadth of America. Within a few days after the Constt- TUTION again flies, from her mizzen, the coach whip commission pennant, she will depart about July 3 on her cruise to the ports of her country. The first port to be visited is Portsmouth, N. H. —a singular coincidence, since it was from Portsmouth that the ConstTitrvu- TION was towed to Boston some 38 years ago. To go back a few years. In Novem- ber, 1923, the navy department di- rected the naval board of inspection and survey to undertake a minute in- spection of the CoNSTITUTION with a view to rebuilding the ship to a good state of preservation and restoring her rigging and her exterior in approxi- mately her original condition. This board recommended that she be rebuilt, refitted, and put in condition for pres- ervation for the greatest length of time practicable for a seaworthy vessel. The alternative, the board stated, was the loss of the ConstTiITuTION to the nation; she would, unless rebuilt in the immediate future, go to ruin by reason of the rotting of her ribs, plank- ing, knees and decks. The cost of the work recomended was thought to be $400,000. It is not too much to say that had the ship been allowed to remain afloat many more years, she would have col- lapsed from weakness in her vital members and sunk at her pier. From this catastrophe the ConsTITU- TION was saved by the action of con- gress. In March, 1925, the secretary of the navy was authorized to repair, equip and restore the frigate CoNsTI- TUTION to her original condition. Fur- ther study and examination of her condition, convinced the officials of the The author, Commander Louis J. Gulliver, United States navy, is pros- pective commanding officer of the Con- STITUTION. United States frigate Constitution rebuilt at Boston navy yard Boston navy yard that the cost of res- toration would be not $400,000 but $650,654. This estimate necessarily was lacking in the essential detailed knowledge of the vessel’s true condi- tion; reliable plans were unobtainable; bills of material were incomplete and inexact; sources of material—live oak for example—were uncertain. In fact the success of the undertaking of res- toration depended very largely on the procurement of suitable woods. In the 130 odd years since the Const1Tv- TION was constructed, our forests have been stripped almost bare of the kinds of trees that furnished so generously the timbers, knees, planking and spars that went into the vessel at the time of her building at Hartt’s shipyard in the north end of Boston in 1797. Live oak timbers for the new fram- ing were almost absolutely necessary. Where were they to be found? Almost providentially a supply was located immersed in Commodore’s pond at Pen- sacola, Fla. The good luck that has always followed the CoNSTITUTION was still with her in the matter of the precious live oak; the supply in Flor- ida was sufficient in quantity and in suitable sizes. It had been placed there by slave labor in 1860. Difficulty in procurement of live oak was paralleled in obtaining white oak; no less than 330 white oak knees were needed as replacements for the time wearied members of the original ship. They were found in Southern Dela- ware. White oak timbers and planks were searched for and found in West Virginia and Delaware. The different parts of the nation to. which the ConstiruTion belongs had begun to contribute their individual products. Other States of the Union followed suit with donations of money or materials ;often times with both. Chronologically we have come to April 1927. The twelve months preced- ing this date had been used in search- ing for wood materials. MARINE REview—July, 1931 The next step—perhaps the most cri- tical and dangerous moment of the CONSTITUTION’S Career—was under- taken. “Old Ironsides’ was placed on the operating table—in the language of shipbuilders, she was drydocked. This, at first glance, might seem to be an ordinary, routine piece of business. It was not. On the contrary, the re- moval of the ConstirruTion from her natural element, the sea, and allowing her to rest on the solid ground of the dry dock gave rise to the gravest pos- sibilities. There was no way of being sure that enough strength remained in the -framework to support her when she settled on the keel blocks of the dry dock. It was known that weak- ness had already brought about a change in her original shape; she had become hogged, a sure symptom that decay in her strength members had progressed to a point of actual danger. Special devices, cradles and a mul- tiplicity of shoring were devised to make it almost literally impossible that any part could collapse. The dreaded dry docking was successfully accom- plished. Then began the labor of taking “Old Tronsides” apart. While the rotten frame was being removed the parts formerly supported by it must neces- sarily be held in place by other means. These required special devising; each operation requiring a different solution of a new problem. Thus almost one by one was each decayed part removed and in its place wént virgin woods, adzed to the shape of the original; looking like the original; stronger than the original. f The alarming extent of the deteriora- tion of the vessel will be realized when it is known that only fifteen per cent of the original ship was found strong enough to be retained in her construc- tion. s The fifteen per cent that remains, contains, we feel sure, the soul of “Old Ironsides.” That would be true if only ~ 19