Afzelia, Iroko, Itaúba and Tesumo® can take a beating: After three years of continuous use as deck panelling on the German sail training ship "Gorch Fock", the four different types of wood have fulfilled the expectations placed on them. "The forecastle deck, on which the alternative woods are installed, is a working deck. The wood is subjected to a lot of stress," explains Gerald Koch, a scientist at the Thünen Institute of Wood Research in Hamburg-Bergedorf. After three years in use, the selected timbers have completely fulfilled the expectations placed on them in terms of durability. The crew also found no differences in terms of slip and abrasion resistance.
On 24 October, the wood research scientists were joined by the commander of the "Gorch Fock", frigate captain Elmar Bornkessel, and other representatives from the navy, the Federal Ministry of Defence, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and industry to report on the results of the monitoring and plan the next years of testing. In the coming years, the main focus will be on testing the long-term moisture behaviour of the wood under changing climatic conditions.
The test area on the upper deck of the "Gorch Fock" has been in place since July 2021. It was set up immediately after a timber trade embargo on teak from Myanmar came into force, but had been planned for some time. Instead of natural forest teak, Afzelia, Iroko, Itaúba and Tesumo®, a modified tropical wood, were laid over 90 square metres. In order to characterise the material and usage properties of the wood, measurements of moisture and colour behaviour are carried out and cracking is documented. Alternatives to the sanctioned natural forest teak from Myanmar are not only interesting for the restoration of old sailing ships, but also for the manufacturers of modern yachts.
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