45
LIFTING
SITE REPORT
FEBRUARY 2015
ACT
A Link-Belt RTC-80130 Series II lowers a sail
to be bent-on the
USS Constitution
located
in the CharlestownNavy Yard at the Boston
National Historic Park.
a better viewof the sails and rigging that
are then lowered to the sailorswaitingon
the respective yard topull and secure it
tight.
According toMilt Ryan, director of
NHHCBostonDetachment, thenew
craneneeded tobe riggedwith165 feet
of boomheight to goup andover the
USSConstitution’s
shroud and rigging,
even at high tide. Shrouds are the ladder-
like standing riggingwhich supports the
masts.
Preparing the dock
While indrydock, the copper sheathing
on the
USSConstitution’s
lower hull will
be replaced andnon-destructive testing
will determine the conditionof her
underwater oak frames.
Before the
USSConstitution
entersDry
DockNo. 1 in theCharlestownNavy
Yard inMarchof this year, theRTC-
80130Series IIwill have beenused to
prepare thedock that is alsoundergoing
restoration tobring it up to a condition
safe for the ship’s entry.
DryDockNo. 1opened in1833 and
is the secondoldest drydock in the
UnitedStates. Twenty-ninenew four-
foot concrete keel blocks, weighing as
much as 15,000pounds each, will have
beenpositionedon the floor of thedry
dockwhere the shipwill rest for her two-
and-a-half year restorationperiod. The
maneuverabilityof theRTC-80130Series
IIwill allow it todrive around the two
sides andheadof the 357-foot-longby
100-foot-wide by 32-foot-deepdrydock.
The cranehas the capacity to reach
more than70 feet out, whichwill be
useful when setting the keel blocks or
working in the center of the ship.
■
The
USS Constitution
is the oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat in theworld and is part
of Boston’s Freedom Trail, which links RevolutionaryWar and other historic sites together to
present the early history of Boston and the founding of the United States.
