I'm familiar with both the Constellation controversy and the practices of
government procurement offices. I've even taken delivery of empty equipment
cabinets on the last day of the year for billing purposes with "repair under
warranty" bringing them up to the level required for their acceptance tests.

Yes, Constellation was "rebuilt" in the sense you mean (take a piece of
timber from the old hull and build a new ship around it). Constitution was
not.

Neither was the Charles W. Morgan which I saw being replanked in the early
1960s (?). Built in 1841, in January 1974, she was hauled out on a lift
dock and her hull proved to be in remarkably good condition, with only a new
false keel, shoe and some planking being required.

All materials will require maintenance. I was just attempting to refute the
scorn expressed for "wooden" boats.

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"Matt Colie" wrote in message
...
derbrym,

You have a small problem there.

Victory was not afloat last time I saw her. she was in a concrete cradle
and the conservetor I spoke to said he did not think she would float if
they allowed the attempt. She has recorded four rebuilds (more on that
later)

Constitution has also been rebuilt four times. When I discussed this with
some of the people that worked on her most recently, (I knew a few of
them) the best guess then was that she was less than 5% original wood.
That would be the inner keel, lower fretlocks and floors.

The word rebuild is old navy. It seems that, in days of yore, a navy was
allowed just so many ships. When one good too rough to maintain, they
would "rebuild" it. This was a job where they would take the ship into a
drydock two ships long and then strip all the guns, rigging and fittings
of the old hull build a new hull infront of it. Since they would pull the
inner keel, lower fretlocks and floors out of the original hull, that
would pretty much lock them into the same ship they just brought in. By
the time the rebuild was done, there was no original hull left, but there
was a new Constitution ready for sea.

The Constellation was first built in 1797 as one of the American super
frigates. This was the catagory that would soon include the Constitution.
In 1855, she was rebuilt and came back out as a smaller and lighter
corvette. The name was never striken and the "ship" was not
decommissioned until 1945 or so - I leave taht for you to decide.

Matt Colie


derbyrm wrote:
Both HMS Victory and USS Constitution are wooden and are over 200 years
old. It's just a question of maintenance.

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"Jasper Windvane" wrote in message
news:2Wuxf.2794$7l4.1644@trndny03...

Here is the scenario; find an old wooden sailboat, circa 1955, and speak
to owner. He wants boat gone.

Boat is very cheap. It is a caravel planked boat. It has been taken
cared of but the last couple of years that has been by the local marina.
Many things have been done to the boat. New keel bolts, for example.

But, it still is a wood hull.

Question: is this boat worth investing time and energy in, how many more
years of life does the wooden hull have, will the boat need a complete
rebuild, etc...

Any and all thoughts.

Jasper