To Meet the Sea Once More:
USS Constitution prepares to leave dry dock
The pages of history continue to turn for the U.S. Navy's oldest commissioned warship, USS Constitution. She will soon exit the historic Dry Dock One at Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston National Historical Park in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
The undefeated Constitution, affectionately called "Old Ironsides," entered dry dock for the first time in more than 20 years on May 18, 2015 for a planned, multi-year, $12 to $15 million restoration. The sea is expected to once again meet her hull, July 23.
Since Old Ironsides entered dry dock, repair facilities in the Navy Yard have been filled with the sounds of saws, grinders and other machinery as teams of contractors and Constitution Sailors work side-by-side to repair and preserve the nearly 220-year-old ship. Sawdust and wood chips lined the floor as a modern-day carpenter's mate carved and smoothed wood that replaced old damaged parts of the ship, for example, just one step in the painstaking work of bringing Constitution back to her glory.