I don’t know about a keel, but after Hurricane Hugo, Navy shipwrights (well, probably contracted by the Navy anyway) went and got the choicest fallen oak trees for use on the Constitution.
They also have earmarked trees on various Naval bases and installations for use in the future. In particular NSA Crane in Indiana has trees that were recently used for this.
Plus… there’s another thread on the same subject you all might like to read also.
If it wasnt for those bastard Confederates, we might also have the USS United States- they scuttled it.
" The ancient timbers of the frigate were so strong and well-preserved they ruined one whole box of axes when attempts were made to scuttle her, and it was necessary to bore through the hull from inside before she settled to the muddy bottom of the river."
Sadly the guns where all scrapped for their bronze when she was converted to a “hulk” or floating dormitory. Luckily when she was being restored under the Theodore Roosevelt presidency, the British discovered that they has a full suite of cannon of the same size as the Constitutions originals still being stored at the main Royal Naval supply yard in Portsmouth. They were made a gift to the US Navy.
So, when you visit the ship and walk the gun decks take a look at the markings on the breech area of the guns. If what I heard is correct, they are marked “George Rex” as they were cast for the Royal Navy during his reign.
That, assuming it’s true, is the definition of irony…
I once read that when Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the U.S. for the Bicentennial in 1976, among many other public appearances, they toured the USS Constitution. The Queen noted British royal arsenal marks on several of the cannon, and joked to her husband, “We really must have a word with the Prime Minister about these foreign arms sales.”
The Navy owns a 50,000 acre woods in Indiana that is full of oak trees, for the sole purpose of providing replacement wood for the USS Constitution.
Good shipbuilding timbers were always scarce and different government regimes always either restricted logging permits and licenses so that necessary timber was kept for whenever, or planted plantations like that one, which had an intention of being harvested in several centuries’ time, and there are probably oaks and other timbers being actively planted now for the 2276 restoration program.
Very few things we do now have such a timeline for payoff, but in some cultures its common practice - like the cyclical rebuilding of Shinto shrines - to see this process of renewal putting responsibility across multiple generations.
As an aside, anyone interested in the nature of a wooden ship or boat rebuild might find the YouTube channel covering the rebuilding of the Tally Ho. Not in the same category as a major naval ship, rather a 40 foot cutter. But even here the nature of the undertaking and extent of the work involved becomes apparent. From a hulk purchased for $1 to a finished boat the journey is many years and a compelling story told in fortnightly videos. Just the logistics of sourcing the wood, and the logic behind the choices is very interesting. It mirrors the issues facing refitting and maintenance of a capital ship, just in miniature.
The Ship of Theseus question is addressed directly. There was almost no salvageable wood. A portion of the transom was reused, and some interior fittings made from salvaged wood. By mass the boat is still majority original. The lead keel, whilst recast, is mostly original metal.
OTOH, at no time was there not a single clearly identifiable boat. What would have been the slow turnover of material in the boat, each part replaced as it degraded in regular maintenance, it all landed into one effort. The final outcome being essentially the same.
Whilst not the same as watching the story unfold over the years, it is a remarkable, highly entertaining and well produced series.
I found the series sometime in year two. I have little interest in sailing, but a great admiration for craftsmen and women. Considering that the guy doing most of the work (all the work in the early days) is the camera man and producer as well, it is a remarkable feat.
I look forward to seeing him and his boat at Cowes on the Isle of Wight next year.
I’ve never known water to rot very much no matter what it’s immersed in.