Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "USS Constitution - A Tour from Keel to Upper Deck" video.

  1.  @t.r.a.e.3218  That bracing, iirc "diagonal riser", was a discovery during Constitution's last restoration. Large frigates had an issue with "hogging", where the bow and stern sag, due to the weight of the ship and guns, where the hull forward and aft is too narrow to provide enough buoyancy to support the load. The diagonal braces direct the loads from the gun deck toward the keel amidships, where there is enough buoyancy to support the load. Apparently, those braces were removed somewhere during the ship's life. The restoration crew was reviewing the small amount of documentation that has survived from the ship's construction and saw mention of "diagonal risers" in the documents. The British had captured USS President, a sister of Constitution, and, per usual Admiralty procedure, made up a set of drawings for her. Those drawings still exist in the Admiralty archives, so the Constitution restoration crew was able to review the drawings, which showed those diagonal braces. Seeing them on the drawings it became obvious how critical they were for the ship's structural integrity, so they were recreated and installed during the restoration.
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