# How Much of the USS Constitution Is Original? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047 "2012-08-20T12:51:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/1 "2012-08-20T12:51:27Z")
My guess is…zero. The ship was reconstructed several times (my uncle has an ash tray made from copper removed from the ship in 1927, during rebuilding). Wood rots, and most of the hull probably has been replaced several times. So, is the ship like your grandaddy’s axe? (head replaced, handle replaced)? The ship was “sailed” last weekend…a few sails were set, but it looked like a tug did most of the work. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/2 "2012-08-20T13:12:33Z")
Some of the metal bits might be original. The brass should have held up reasonably well. But no way in hell is any of the wood orginal. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/3 "2012-08-20T13:15:18Z")
Congratulations, Ralph. Plutarch asked the [same question](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus) almost two thousand years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/4 "2012-08-20T13:16:40Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > The ship was “sailed” last weekend..a few sails were set, but it looked like a tug did most of the work. It gets tugged out into the harbor pretty often (at least every year). But this week it did indeed sail under its own power for a short distance, for only the second time or so since the 19th century. A tour of the Constitution, IMO, is a must-see for anyone visiting the Boston area. It’s an amazing look into the late 18th/early 19th century naval culture. ---
**Author:** ![mikemo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/41988e/32.png) [@mikemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikemo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/5 "2012-08-20T13:40:22Z")
> **[Research Library - USS Constitution Museum](https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/discover-learn/research-library/)** > > Est. reading time: 3 minutes > [@](#): > > The Naval History and Heritage Command Detachment Boston, the unit charged with overseeing Constitution’s maintenance and repair, estimates that 10 to 15 percent of the ship’s fabric is composed of timber installed between 1795 and 1797. This “original” wood includes the ship’s keel, lower futtocks, and the deadwood at the stem and stern. I would have actually thought it was a higher percentage than that. It doesn’t mention fixtures, fittings, guns, etc. though. Mike ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/6 "2012-08-20T13:41:14Z")
Great tour, did it just a couple of months ago. Yeah, it was explained that they drag it out once a year to keep it on the list of commissioned military warships. Next year, it’s supposed to go out in full sail; should be a grand sight. ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/7 "2012-08-20T14:10:10Z")
The other reason for dragging it out once a year is to flip it so the sides weather evenly. (horizontal flip, not vertical - though that would be awesome) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/8 "2012-08-20T14:44:57Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Great tour, did it just a couple of months ago. Ditto (I was there in April), and the museum is great too. My kids had a blast doing all of the interactive sailor-play (and we got a picture of our one-year-old appearing to shoot a cannon). ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/9 "2012-08-20T14:50:07Z")
I’ve done the tour a few times. If you look closely at some of the cannons, you’ll see that some have arrows cast in the barrel pointing toward the hole. The navy guide explained that was to make sure that if the ship was carrying Marines, they’d know which way to point the cannon. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/10 "2012-08-20T14:59:12Z")
The museum on shore is neat too-you get to understand what being a sailor was like-lots of beans, salt pork, and sauerkraut. Most sailors wold break up their hardtack with a hammer, and soak the fragments in water (the hardtack cold chip your teeth…if you had any left, after the ship’s surgeon got through with you) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/11 "2012-08-21T12:06:45Z")
> [@mikemo](#): > > [Research Library - USS Constitution Museum](http://www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org/collections-history/faq/#original) > > I would have actually thought it was a higher percentage than that. It doesn’t mention fixtures, fittings, guns, etc. though. > > Mike I’m surprised the keel is original…I mean, that’s in the water _all the time_, how has it not rotted off? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/12 "2012-08-21T12:25:46Z")
**How Much of the USS Constitution Is Original?** Probably not much - it’s had a whole lot of amendments over the years. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/13 "2012-08-21T12:56:52Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I’m surprised the keel is original…I mean, that’s in the water _all the time_, how has it not rotted off? The Constitution has copper plate covering everything below the water line, which greatly reduces the “rotting”. I think a little water can get through the sheathing, but bigger marine critters like barnacles and shipworms cannot. Though I am not entirely sure if the copper sheathing was part of the original construction or added at a later date. Also, the keel and other major structural bits are made out of the densest, choicest wood. Basically the shipbuilders go into old-growth live oak forests and find the best possible keel-shaped tree, particularly for such an important ship like the Constitution. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/14 "2012-08-21T13:12:11Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > The Constitution has copper plate covering everything below the water line, which greatly reduces the “rotting”. I think a little water can get through the sheathing, but bigger marine critters like barnacles and shipworms cannot. Though I am not entirely sure if the copper sheathing was part of the original construction or added at a later date. > > Also, the keel and other major structural bits are made out of the densest, choicest wood. Basically the shipbuilders go into old-growth live oak forests and find the best possible keel-shaped tree, particularly for such an important ship like the Constitution. I \*think \* that the copper also is toxic to most marine critters, so even if they get to the wood through a gap in the plating, they’ll get poisoned by the slowly dissolving copper around them. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/15 "2012-08-21T15:14:49Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > **How Much of the USS Constitution Is Original?** > > Probably not much - it’s had a whole lot of amendments over the years. Yeah, but you know how those constitution originalists are… always pining for the past (or is it oak?) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/16 "2012-08-21T17:43:43Z")
Oak, and white oak at that (nice try though. 🙂 ) On edit, here are the woods listed in the [bill of materials for the 1992-1995 restoration](http://www.maritime.org/conf/conf-otton-mat.htm): LIVE OAK TIMBER WHITE OAK TIMBER: DOUGLAS FIR TIMBER, UNTREATED: PLANKING DOUGLAS FIR TIMBER, UNTREATED:DECKING WHITE OAK GLUED LAMINATES, UNTREATED: TIMBERS WHITE OAK GLUED LAMINATES, UNTREATED: KNEES DOUGLAS FIR GLUED LAMINATES, UNTREATED DOUGLAS FIR, GLUED LAMINATED, TREATED (ACZA) ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/17 "2012-08-21T19:15:55Z")
> [@cornflakes](#): > > DOUGLAS FIR TIMBER, UNTREATED: PLANKING > DOUGLAS FIR TIMBER, UNTREATED:DECKING Anyone else find that kind of funny? No? OK then, back to the topic. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/18 "2012-08-21T19:25:43Z")
> [@cornflakes](#): > > DOUGLAS FIR GLUED LAMINATES, UNTREATED > DOUGLAS FIR, GLUED LAMINATED, TREATED (ACZA) Plywood? TREATED plywood? Not even pretty birch ply but fir ply, the ugliest wood substitute out there that isn’t skinned with plastic woodgrain? As for the keel, are there any old-enough-growth oak trees left to make a keel? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/19 "2012-08-22T02:15:19Z")
We toured the ship a month ago, and as **mikemo** said, our Navy guide told us that 10-15% of the ship is estimated to be original. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047/20 "2012-08-24T01:47:55Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > It gets tugged out into the harbor pretty often (at least every year). But this week it did indeed sail under its own power for a short distance, for only the second time or so since the 19th century. > > A tour of the Constitution, IMO, is a must-see for anyone visiting the Boston area. It’s an amazing look into the late 18th/early 19th century naval culture. In 1997, on its 200th anniversary, it sailed 16 miles north to the Town of Marblehead, to honor the Town’s being the Birthpace of the American Navy, where thenew navy’s first ship, the Schooner _Hannah_ was built. [http://www.marblehead.org/index.aspx?NID=603](http://www.marblehead.org/index.aspx?NID=603) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047.md?page=2)