Guns, really really BIG guns

[tombogan03884]

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1375074&srvc=rss

Video at link

The Navy’s oldest commissioned warship afloat, the USS Constitution, celebrated its birthday with a bang in Boston Harbor today.

In the fifth and final underway demonstration of the year, sailors marked the 214th anniversary of the historic warship’s launch by taking the USS Constitution on a cruise around Boston Harbor and firing a 21-gun salute toward Fort Independence on Castle Island.

A 17-gun salute was then fired toward the Coast Guard Station Sector Boston, representing the 17 states that existed when the warship was built and launched from the Edmund Hartts Shipyard in 1797.

The warship defended sea lanes against enemy threat from 1797 to 1855.

[twyacht]

I would have been proud and wish I could have been onboard. I'm sure the Massholes had to authorize a "permit" to allow such use of cannons.

[Pathfinder]

Actually, TW, it didn't look like the cannons were firing. Only 2 ports showed smoke (forwardsmost ports on both sides), and in one shot the front right port seemed to emit the smoke from above the cannon. The smoke "puffs" didn't quite look right either, too white, and they tended to go up as soon as being emitted.

OTOH, I am not sure I would be all that eager to load up a nearly 250 year old iron cannon with black powder and touch it off either. 

[fightingquaker13]

Its not gun control, it's the timbers. Remember "shiver me timbers" came from somewhere, and well, that Newton guy, he's kind of a jerk.  For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. That's tough on a wooden boat. No way in hell that they will fire off a real broadside with all the damage that could do to the hull. Read naval history and you will find more than a few ships that sank themselves firing broadsides with rotted timbers. Lots of cannons firing and recoiling  off century old timber exposed to the salt? Not a good idea.
FQ13

[Big Frank]

It's good to see Old Ironsides in action. 

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

Path, The visible ports are on the gun deck, but there are also guns above that on the upper deck, that is probably why it looked like the smoke came from above the port. The ports for the upper deck guns don't show against the black hull.

FQ, there really isn't that much recoil since they are firing "Blanks" purely for smoke and boom. What you accurately point out would be far more of a worry if they were firing actual shot.

[fightingquaker13]

FQ, there really isn't that much recoil since they are firing "Blanks" purely for smoke and boom. What you accurately point out would be far more of a worry if they were firing actual shot.

Point taken. Firing blanks will reduce, though not eliminate, the recoil. Still "Iron Sides" or not, the darn thing is a hundred and fifty years old, and has been sitting in the salt every day of those years. I would be a bit shy about firing 17 guns off her decks even if they were loaded with very light blank powder charges.
FQ13 who grew up in Florida and paid my way though HS working at Soverell Marine's boat yard (TW wil vouch for me here). I have developed a healthy respect for what sunlight, salt and time can do to a hull.

[Solus]

I wonder how much of the ship is "original equipment"...particularly the hull and other wooden items.

The guns might be original as might be most of the plating, but I bet the Navy wouldn't let their historic flag ship rot away.

What a beauty, and, no doubt, better maintained than it's namesake.

[tombogan03884]

For all intents the structure is actually less than 20 years old

Wiki has a really good article on the old girl.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution#1995_reconstruction

1995 reconstruction
Photo of a ship at sail with two escorts as navy jets fly overhead
Constitution sails unassisted for the first time in 116 years

Constitution entered dry dock in 1992 for an inspection and minor repair period that turned out to be her most comprehensive structural restoration and repair since she was launched in 1797. Over the 200 years of her career, as her mission changed from a fighting warship to a training ship and eventually a receiving ship, multiple refittings removed most of her original construction components and design. In 1993 the Naval History & Heritage Command Detachment Boston reviewed Humphreys' original plans and identified five main structural components that were required to prevent hogging of a ship's hull,[204] as Constitution had at this point 13 in (330 mm) of hog. Using a 1:16 scale model of the ship, they were able to determine that restoring the original components would result in a 10% increase in hull stiffness.[205]

Using radiography, a technique unavailable during previous reconstruction, 300 scans of her timbers were completed to find any hidden problems otherwise undetectable from the outside. Aided by the United States Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory, the repair crew used sound wave testing to determine the condition of the remaining timbers that may have been rotting from the inside.[204] The 13 in (330 mm) of hog was removed from her keel by allowing the ship to settle naturally while in dry dock. The most difficult task, as during her 1920s restoration, was the procurement of timber in the quantity and sizes needed. The city of Charleston, South Carolina donated live oak trees that were felled by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, and the International Paper Company donated live oak from its own property.[200] The project continued to reconstruct her to 1812 specifications while she remained open to visitors, who were allowed to observe the process and converse with workers.[204] The twelve million dollar project was completed in 1995.[206]

[jnevis]

Also note that the video is run fast so the smoke drift is exaggerated.

"Shiver me timbers" had nothing to do with the DECK, but the masts and yardarms.  The easiest way to disable a ship isn't to sink it but destroy the propulsion system.  In that day it was the rigging and masts.  The timbers referred to the yardarms and cross members.  Shivers basically meant splinters.  So it basically meant "Stop me in my tracks"