So after decades of trying to get the 82yr old battleship's deck replaced the USS Alabama Battleship Commission has announced they have finally received the go ahead to replace the deck which just happens to be made of naturally grown Burmese teak which is virtually impossible to get today. Teak is a very beautifully grained wood that is so oily and tough it does not rot so is highly sought after and although today there are farmed alternatives nothing can compare with the original natural teak they cut from the rain forests back in the days when it was legal to do so. Today when that kind of naturally grown teak is available it can reach prices in the thousands of dollars per board so who could even guess how much the USS Alabama's 29,000 square feet of teak deck is worth? There needs to be some transparancy, what exactly is going to be done with that original deck because you can be damn sure it will not be going into a dumpster.
https://mynbc15.com/news/local/uss-alabama-in-need-of-some-costly-repairs
25-35 million
Have been on the USS New Jersey & USS Massachusetts, both with teak decking. Neither had decks maintained to USN standards as they would have been while in service. Museum ships always struggle with limited budgets. The decks on the NJ & MA were not well maintained, cracking, cupping, warping, shrinking and in poor general condition. You can see that clearly in the USS Alabama pics. Could it be reclaimed? Possibly with careful removal and post processing (planing, sanding, sealing) but it hinges on removal. Can almost guarantee whomever got the contract for replacement is not going to be careful and will tear it out as quickly as possible. 29,000 square feet, if they get 20-25% of that in linear feet usable as flooring after processing I'd be surprised. And since the contract likely had a removal clause it's theirs to do with as they want. Not seeing anything conspiratorial in this.
The teak decking is at least 4 inches thick. I have seen 100 year old teak railway sleepers reclaimed. They also looked grey and cracked. They were planed down only a quarter inch and below that weathered surface they looked perfect. This is because Teak is so oily the weather can barely touch it. Id bet only small pieces of the battleship decks really need to be replaced and then the whole thing machine sanded in situ to refinish the weathered surface.
Write your local paper, boomer, this isn't an appropriate use of conspiratorial resources.
Have you tried making this "who gives a fuck" post on facebook? There's probably dozens of boomer vets like yourself, slipping seamlessly into senility, that need an "issue" like this to occupy what's left of their early onset dementia ridden brains.