N
NeTree
Guest
Didn't have anything to do with the iron plating, would it?
M
Mr. Sir
Guest
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #27
As far as I recall, there was no iron plating. Just 21" of Southern Live Oak. They say cannonballs would literally bounce off the hull.
N
NeTree
Guest
Well, we're both wrong, but I knew it wasn't just the wood:
http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil/CopperSheathing.htm
The ship isn't that far from me.
http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil/CopperSheathing.htm
The ship isn't that far from me.
N
Newfie
Guest
I've been on that ship.
SkwerI
Treehouser
Isn't that the one in the harbor at Baltimore? A bunch of us tree guys got to check it out during the TCIA expo there a few years ago.
Interesting link about Paul Revere starting the first US copper mill. His copper lasted over 100 years, the replacement copper lasted less than 50 years, then the next replacement only lasted 19 years.
Interesting link about Paul Revere starting the first US copper mill. His copper lasted over 100 years, the replacement copper lasted less than 50 years, then the next replacement only lasted 19 years.
N
Newfie
Guest
The USS Constellation is in Baltimore harbor. It is the sister ship of the Constitution. I've been on that ship as well.
gf beranek
Old Schooler
The copper cladding was for antifouling. I suspect the sheeting that Paul Revere used was more substantial than latter replacements.
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
A little note about copper sheeting .When David Bushenell attempted to attach a time bomb to a Britsh man of war using the first known submersable the "turtle" ,it was the copper sheathing that fouled the attempt .
He basically just had a woodscrew type of thing .The plan was to attach the bomb then get the hell out of Dodge before it blew the ship and his little sunken barrel of a submarine all to kingdom come . Things didn't go just that way .The bomb floated to the surface and detonated only scaring the dickens out the ships compnay and Bushenell cranked on the propeller of that little thing and made his great escape before they nabbed him .Trivia 101 .
N
NeTree
Guest
This could be a great new thread!
I was on the Constitution on one of our class field trips in like 5th or 6th grade.
I was on the Constitution on one of our class field trips in like 5th or 6th grade.
Just before the advent of ironclad warships the sides were build of an awful lot of wood. The frigate Jylland (see picture) has 20 inch thick sides of oak in 4 cris crossing and overlapping layers. It took 1500 mature oak trees to build a ship like that.
However, the invention of stronger cannon soon led to the warships being first ironclad and then made completely out of iron.
It was the same sort of tecnological race: armament versus guns, that made the antitank rifles buildt just after WW1 ( Finnish 20mm Lahti, British Boys.55 rifle etc.) obsolete after a few years, tank armour simply got too thick too fast.
About copperplating; around here it was used just under and above the waterline to protect the wooden hull from being scraped by icefloes in winter.
However, the invention of stronger cannon soon led to the warships being first ironclad and then made completely out of iron.
It was the same sort of tecnological race: armament versus guns, that made the antitank rifles buildt just after WW1 ( Finnish 20mm Lahti, British Boys.55 rifle etc.) obsolete after a few years, tank armour simply got too thick too fast.
About copperplating; around here it was used just under and above the waterline to protect the wooden hull from being scraped by icefloes in winter.
Attachments
Old Monkey
Treehouser
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2005
- Messages
- 8,764
Supporting weak limbs just promotes laziness and obesity.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
I wouldn't say that's the definitive answer to the queshun.
Fat & sugar intake exacerbates this.
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
O boy we are off on a tangent ,oh well .Copper and naval brass will not support alga formations .This stuff will grow whiskers 8-10 inchs long and is just like adding sand to a ball bearing as far as slowing down a watercraft .
On the nuc subs they scrapped the hull about every six months or so and those things had a tremendous amount of shaft HP for their size .Even with all that power the weeds could cut 3 to 5 knots from top speed which is one thing you do not want or need .
That damned sewer pipe would grow a crop of weeds even while moving through the water .A wooden hulled ship would no doubt be worse and all they had to move them was the wind .
On the nuc subs they scrapped the hull about every six months or so and those things had a tremendous amount of shaft HP for their size .Even with all that power the weeds could cut 3 to 5 knots from top speed which is one thing you do not want or need .
That damned sewer pipe would grow a crop of weeds even while moving through the water .A wooden hulled ship would no doubt be worse and all they had to move them was the wind .
