The ship regularly undergoes maintenance, so it’s constantly checked for things like rot etc. and parts of the hull etc. are replaced as needed. There’s a dry dock at the Navy yard where it’s berthed and every few years the news says it’s being put there for a checkup.
During the sail my understanding is that the biggest concern was the use of modern materials in the sails & rigging. 200 years ago the sails would have been made of linen, which is fairly porous, so some percentage of wind would pass through it. Modern sails are made from materials based on plastics that catch virtually all the air. So the concern was if they raised all the sails they could introduce far more stress on the rigging & masts than the ship had ever encountered. So out of an abundance of caution they only used some of the sails.
I also remember hearing that during the planning of the event the Navy wanted to have a couple larger modern ships sail by as part of a salute. That was reportedly shelved when it was pointed out (by somebody not in the Navy) that the wakes of those larger boats were bigger than the Constitution itself.
They kinda do set all her sails because she only has six.
Sailing her under her own power was a project for her 200th birthday, and she hadn’t sailed since the 19th century. She had no sails. They did a penny drive and collected enough money to have two jibs, three topsails and a spanker made, which is about enough to move the ship.
She’s got no inner jibs, staysails, courses, topgallants or royals.
In that condition, she can apparently make about 4 or 5 knots, which is a brisk walking pace. I wonder if she has enough sail power to perform maneuvers like tacking or wearing. Or even just…handling certain currents with a quartering wind. “We can’t go in that direction because our sails aren’t powerful enough” rapidly becomes a thing. So she doesn’t go anywhere without a tugboat nearby.
The ship regularly undergoes maintenance, so it’s constantly checked for things like rot etc. and parts of the hull etc. are replaced as needed. There’s a dry dock at the Navy yard where it’s berthed and every few years the news says it’s being put there for a checkup.
During the sail my understanding is that the biggest concern was the use of modern materials in the sails & rigging. 200 years ago the sails would have been made of linen, which is fairly porous, so some percentage of wind would pass through it. Modern sails are made from materials based on plastics that catch virtually all the air. So the concern was if they raised all the sails they could introduce far more stress on the rigging & masts than the ship had ever encountered. So out of an abundance of caution they only used some of the sails.
I also remember hearing that during the planning of the event the Navy wanted to have a couple larger modern ships sail by as part of a salute. That was reportedly shelved when it was pointed out (by somebody not in the Navy) that the wakes of those larger boats were bigger than the Constitution itself.
They kinda do set all her sails because she only has six.
Sailing her under her own power was a project for her 200th birthday, and she hadn’t sailed since the 19th century. She had no sails. They did a penny drive and collected enough money to have two jibs, three topsails and a spanker made, which is about enough to move the ship.
She’s got no inner jibs, staysails, courses, topgallants or royals.
In that condition, she can apparently make about 4 or 5 knots, which is a brisk walking pace. I wonder if she has enough sail power to perform maneuvers like tacking or wearing. Or even just…handling certain currents with a quartering wind. “We can’t go in that direction because our sails aren’t powerful enough” rapidly becomes a thing. So she doesn’t go anywhere without a tugboat nearby.