She sits in a harbor. She “sails” very rarely. And there’s little left of the original ship after numerous renovations.
But she’s still an awesome sight, and a proud reminder of American naval history.
Yeah, I imagine she’s like the farmer with the 80-year-old axe; the handle has been replaced a dozen times and the head has been replaced 5 times. Still impressive that we have a ship that still works from the 18th Century. It’s kind of like how the Russians still try to threaten us with throwback propeller-driven bombers, but way cooler.
Old Ironsides does a ‘turnaround’ once a year. And she is fully staffed with Navy personnel, at all times. And she really is an awesome sight.
She usually goes out on the fourth of July for a turn-around so that she weathers evenly.
She is a pretty small vessel. Cannot imagine spending a LOT of time at sea on her.