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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. We invite you to participate in FREE family-friendly activities throughout the Navy Yard and in the USS Constitution Museum to celebrate thisRead more

USS Constitution‘s bow has been variously decorated over the past 220 years. In Bow Decor, the different figureheads and billetheads were discussed. But the decoration didn’t stop there. The cutwater, which projects from the ship’s stem, has also been embellished. Gracing the curve of the cutwater are the trailboards, decorative elements that enhance the look ofRead more

Across USS Constitution‘s nearly 220-year history, her bow has been graced with several different carved decorations. An examination of those figureheads, billetheads and trailboards illustrate the changing look of “Old Ironsides” across the centuries. Hercules “Sheer, Half-breadth, and Body, U.S. Frigate Constitution”, Plan #14925. This 20th century copy of the 1794 plan of the 44-gunRead more

Happy 2017! Every year, we review the progress that USS Constitution’s restoration team has made. Take a look at our Year in Review: 2015 to see how far we’ve come! Constitution continues with her first dry docking of the 21st century. In 2016, “Old Ironsides‘” ongoing work included the installation of more new hull planks, significant rebuilding of the cutwater and the stern, overhauling,Read more

Since the summer of 2015, Naval History & Heritage Command Detachment Boston ship restorers and riggers have been working off and on with the rebuilding of USS Constitution‘s cutwater. The cutwater is a structure made up of several pieces of large timber and projects from the ship’s bow. It parts the water as the ship sails along, making herRead more

The materials used in rebuilding and restoring USS Constitution span from 45-foot-long, 12,000 pound white oak trees to three-inch copper pins. Currently, Stephen Nichols, blacksmith for the Naval History & Heritage Command Detachment Boston, is finishing the last of 468 hand-made copper pins that will hold protective bronze plates to the forward edge of Constitution‘s cutwater. Stephen Nichols worksRead more

Over the past few weeks work has begun on USS Constitution‘s cutwater, which is the projecting curve from the ship’s bow. The cutwater is formed by assembling several pieces of large timbers and its purpose is to open the column of water as the ship sails along. This is one of the first major projects of the 2015-2017Read more