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Moreover, even if you find the right oak wood, it can't be used for shipbuilding as soon as it's felled. It needs to be air-dried for at least 10 years, while the British Navy requires 14 years.
This is because the wood contains a lot of moisture inside. If used directly to build ships, it will shrink and twist after drying, causing the structural strength of the hull to greatly reduce at best, or directly leak water and become scrap at worst.
Therefore, keel wood for battleships is considered a precious strategic resource in any naval power, with the cost of a single keel usually accounting for 5% to 8% of the total cost of the ship.
Previously, France, taking advantage of its good relations with Russia and the United States, purchased a large batch of shipbuilding oak, but with the advent of iron keels, they ended up lying idle in warehouses, gathering dust.
