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Here's what Wikipedia has to say: The Naval Act of 1794 provided for the construction of four ships carrying forty-four guns each, and two ships carrying thirty-six guns each.[8] Constitution was the third of the forty-four gun frigates to be completed, and was given her name by President George Washington.[9] Her keel was laid down on 1 November 1794 at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts, under the supervision of Captain Samuel Nicholson and naval constructor George Claghorn.[Note 3] Primary materials used in her construction were white pine, longleaf pine, white oak, and, most importantly, southern live oak, which was cut and milled at Gascoigne Bluff in St. Simons, Georgia. Southern live oak, a particularly dense wood, can weigh up to 75 lb (34 kg) per cubic foot (1,201 kg/m3). Constitution's hull was built 21 inches (530 mm) thick in an era when 18 inches (460 mm) was common. Her vertical hull ribbing was placed 2 in (51 mm) apart instead of the standard 24 in (610 mm). Her length between perpendiculars was 175 ft (53 m), with a 204 ft (62 m) length overall[3] and a width of 45 ft 2 in (13.8 m). In total, 60 acres (24.28 ha) of trees were needed for her construction.[10] Paul Revere forged the copper bolts and breasthooks.[11][12] The copper sheathing installed to prevent shipworm was imported from England.[11][Note 4]