Woodworking Industry News
Navy Foresters Prep White Oak for U.S.S. Constitution Makeover
By Bill Esler
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Removing copper sheaths from USS Constitution.

Photo By US Navy

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Old Ironsides in Boston
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Stepping a mast: when the oak mast is laid coins are dropped below the place platform on which it rests - a tradition traced to ancient Greece.
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Crew from the French warship Hermione arrived to visit the crew from Old Ironsides in Boston last weekend.
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Crew climb the rigging.
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Hoisting sails is hard work.
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Only about 12 percent of the original wood is intact on the U.S.S. Constitution.
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Captain's quarters.
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Navy foresters Trent Osmon and Rhett Steele from Naval Facilities Engineering Command Midwest's Public Works Department Crane, Production Manager Robert Murphy from the Charlestown Navy Yard, and Cmdr. James Stewart, commanding officer of Naval Support Activity Crane, assess a white oak tree set aside for future use in repairing USS Constitution. The ship's next dry docking repair availability is planned for 2014 through 2018, and will involve replacing deteriorated 40-foot-long hull planking and supporting structures with the same kind of wood used to build the ship in 1797. Crane's forest, the largest contiguous forest under single ownership in Indiana, includes nearly 150 GPS-located mature white oaks set aside for future use by Constitution.

Photo By U.S. Navy photo by Bill Couch

The U.S.S. Constitution, the oldest working warship in the world, is in drydock for a two year makeover. White oak planks and beams will be replaced using wood seleced by Navy Foresters. Affectionately known as "Old Ironsides," the ship was instrumental in winning the War of 1812 (it earned its name as its copper-covered sides repelled British cannon balls.) Crew dress in period uniforms and learn the peculiar requirements of maintaining an oak ship powered by the wind. About 12 percent of the ship is original wood. 

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