• Donate
  • Join Now
  • Sign Up for eNews
USS Constitution MuseumUSS Constitution MuseumUSS Constitution MuseumUSS Constitution Museum
  • Visit
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Directions & Parking
    • Groups & Field Trips
    • Calendar of Events
    • Museum Map
    • Host an Event
    • In Our Neighborhood
    • Library Pass Program
  • Exhibits
    • Past Exhibits
    • Ship Model Show
    • The Model Shipwright Guild
    • Hands-On Areas
  • Discover + Learn
  • Educators
  • Shop
    • Shop Now
    • Buy a Membership
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • USS Constitution Museum Gala
    • Memorial Bricks
    • Support Our Collections
    • Legacy Giving
    • Foundation Support
    • Amazon Smile
    • Host an Event
      • Approved Caterers
      • Guide to Hosting Functions and Special Events at the Museum
    • Donor Privacy Policy
  • About
    • Mission & History
      • Founders
      • National Awards
    • Board of Trustees
    • Publications
    • Family Learning Project
    • National Outreach
    • For Press & Media
    • Jobs & Volunteering
    • Contact Us

Scrubbing the Hull

    Home Blog Restoration Current Work Scrubbing the Hull
    NextPrevious

    Scrubbing the Hull

    By USS Constitution Museum | Current Work, Restoration | Comments are Closed | 16 May, 2015 | 7

    This past April, divers from Seaward Marine Services, Inc. stopped by the Charlestown Navy Yard to clean USS Constitution‘s hull below the waterline in preparation for her restoration. These skilled divers, many of whom served in the U.S. Navy, braved frigid water temperatures to scrape twenty years of seaweed and mollusk build-up from “Old Ironsides.” Cleaning the hull helps remove excess weight before the ship is floated into dry dock.

    A diver of Seaward Marine Services, Inc. scrubs the hull of USS Constitution, April 6, 2015,. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    A diver of Seaward Marine Services, Inc. scrubs the hull of USS Constitution, April 6, 2015,. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    Seward Marine Services, Inc. divers pose in front of USS Constitution after working on her hull. [Courtesy Seaward Marine Services, Inc.]

    Divers from Seward Marine Services, Inc. pose in front of USS Constitution after working on her hull in April 2015. [Courtesy Seaward Marine Services, Inc.]

    Several divers spent nearly six hours a day for two days scrubbing the hull with large bristled brushes specially designed for cleaning ships.

    Large bristled brushes used by the divers to scrub the hull of USS Constitution below the waterline. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    Large bristled brushes used by the divers to scrub the hull of USS Constitution below the waterline. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    In addition to carrying an emergency oxygen tank on their backs, each diver wore a wetsuit and helmet hooked up to three tubes: one to provide oxygen, one with a wire used for communication, and one pumping a constant stream of hot water to keep them comfortable in water temperatures below 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Employees of Seaward Marine Services, Inc. connect air and water tubes and communication wires to a diver's helmet, April 6, 2015. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    Employees of Seaward Marine Services, Inc. connect air and water tubes and communication wires to a diver’s helmet, April 6, 2015. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    A diver climbs down a ladder into Boston Harbor on April 6, 2015. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    A diver climbs down a ladder into Boston Harbor on April 6, 2015. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    A diver with Seaward Marine Services, Inc. prepares to enter Boston Harbor to clean USS Constitution. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    A diver with Seaward Marine Services, Inc. prepares to enter Boston Harbor to clean USS Constitution. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    A diver climbs down a ladder into Boston Harbor on April 6, 2015. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    A diver climbs down a ladder into Boston Harbor on April 6, 2015. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    A diver swims toward USS Constitution to clean her hull, April 6, 2015. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

    A diver swims toward USS Constitution to clean her hull, April 6, 2015. [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

     – K. Monea

    Divers, Hull, Restoration
    USS Constitution Museum

    USS Constitution Museum

    The USS Constitution Museum serves as the memory and educational voice of USS CONSTITUTION, by collecting, preserving, and interpreting the stories of "Old Ironsides" and the people associated with her. We seek to create a positive, memorable experience for both children and adults by inspiring within them a love for the freedom that CONSTITUTION symbolizes. We will share CONSTITUTION's contributions with a global audience, and we will strive to be the best museum possible based on scholarship and innovative ways of sharing CONSTITUTION's stories.

    More posts by USS Constitution Museum

    Related Post

    • Finishing Touches

      By USS Constitution Museum | 4 comments

      Join us on July 23, as we celebrate “Old Ironsides’” much-anticipated return to the water! On that night, Dry Dock 1 will be filled and USS Constitution will float into Boston Harbor after a two year restoration. The USS ConstitutionRead more

    • New Copper Sheathing

      By USS Constitution Museum | 7 comments

      England’s Royal Navy began experimenting with copper-cladding its warships in the early 1760s and found it extended the life of the ships by preventing boring mollusks from destroying the wooden hulls. Below-the-waterline copper sheathing alsoRead more

    • Copper Bottomed

      By USS Constitution Museum | 6 comments

      On March 27, 1794, Congress passed the “Act to provide a Naval Armament” which authorized President George Washington to create the new United States Navy. Each of the six frigates that made up the new U.S. NavyRead more

    • The Restoration Begins

      By USS Constitution Museum | Comments are Closed

      On June 9, 2015, CDR Sean D. Kearns, the 73rd Commanding Officer of USS Constitution, and USS Constitution Museum President Anne Grimes Rand, ceremoniously removed the first sheet of copper from the ship’s hull. ThisRead more

    • CONSTITUTION’s Dry Dock

      By USS Constitution Museum | Comments are Closed

      Almost exactly 182 years ago, in 1833, USS Constitution entered Dry Dock 1 for the first time under the command of Commodore Isaac Hull, hero of the War of 1812. Although she was the first shipRead more

    NextPrevious

    USSCM Restoration

    • Restoration Blog
      • Current Work
      • History
      • Video

    Restoration Blog Email Subscription

    Get new USSCM Restoration posts delivered straight to your inbox.

    Search the Restoration Blog


    Recent Posts

    • 8 November, 2018
      Comments Off on World War I and the Legacy of the War of 1812

      World War I and the Legacy of the War of 1812

    • 1 November, 2018
      1

      USS Constitution Museum Honors Congresswoman Niki Tsongas and Trustee Gary P. Kearney, M.D

    • 9 October, 2018
      Comments Off on Secretary of the Interior Announces $3M for Charlestown Navy Yard Project

      Secretary of the Interior Announces $3M for Charlestown Navy Yard Project

    USS CONSTITUTION MUSEUM | Charlestown Navy Yard, Building 22, Charlestown, MA 02129 | 6174261812

    Mass Cultural Council
    Copyright © 2015 USS Constitution Museum. All Rights Reserved.
    • Visit
      • Plan Your Visit
      • Directions & Parking
      • Groups & Field Trips
      • Calendar of Events
      • Museum Map
      • Host an Event
      • In Our Neighborhood
      • Library Pass Program
    • Exhibits
      • Past Exhibits
      • Ship Model Show
      • The Model Shipwright Guild
      • Hands-On Areas
    • Discover + Learn
    • Educators
    • Shop
      • Shop Now
      • Buy a Membership
    • Support
      • Donate
      • Membership
      • USS Constitution Museum Gala
      • Memorial Bricks
      • Support Our Collections
      • Legacy Giving
      • Foundation Support
      • Amazon Smile
      • Host an Event
        • Approved Caterers
        • Guide to Hosting Functions and Special Events at the Museum
      • Donor Privacy Policy
    • About
      • Mission & History
        • Founders
        • National Awards
      • Board of Trustees
      • Publications
      • Family Learning Project
      • National Outreach
      • For Press & Media
      • Jobs & Volunteering
      • Contact Us
    USS Constitution Museum