Gorch Fock Model Ship

The Gorch Fock is a training vessel of the German Federal Navy

About the Gorch Fock wooden scale Model Ship

This model ship of the Gorch Fock was custom built from the following information:

• The original construction drawings.

About the construction of the Gorch Fock wooden scale Model Ship

• The hull is built using the Double Plank-on-Bulkhead construction method
• The bulkheads and keel are cut from marine grade pine plywood
• The first layer of planking is done plank by plank using Mahogany planks
• The second layer of planking is done using Mahogany Veneer strips
• The deck is made of Anagre, a light brown timber from the Amazon
• The gunwale and stringers are made of American Walnut
• The fife rails and pin racks are made of American Walnut
• The deckhouses and gangways are made of Teak
• The masts and yards are made of Mahogany dowels
• The sails and ropes are made of linen
• The model is painted with acrylic paint
• The ornaments are cold cast in bronze and painted

Learn more…

History of the Gorch Fock

The Gorch Fock is a German Navy Tall ship built by Blohm & Vos and launched in 1958. She was built as a training vessel with a complement of 77 and could accommodate 160 trainees. The Gorch Fock is a sister ship of the Gorch Fock built in 1933 and both ships were named to honor the writer, Johann Kinau, who wrote under the pseudonym “Gorch Fock”. He was a writer of short stories linked to the sea, and as a result became very popular.

After the outbreak of World War I, Johann Kinau volunteered to become a sailor on board the Wiesbaden and sadly met his end in 1916 during the Battle of Jutland.

The Gorch Fock is a barque with three masts. Her hull and masts are made of steel, and more than 300 tons of ballast in the hull makes her extremely stable. All 23 sails and her ropes are made of synthetics. The Gorch Fock has an auxiliary engine to help navigation in calm waters.

Officers and NCO candidates are given practical and theoretical training onboard the Gorch Fock. The Gorch Fock and her crew support the work of German representatives abroad and thus contribute towards establishing a favorable image of the German Federal Republic. This gave her the nickname” The Blue Ambassador”

Since 1960 the Gorch Fock has regularly participated in large international sailing events and regattas and has always been well placed. Her homeport is Kiel where she is often visited by groups of youth and visitors from other parts of the country. The setting of her 23 sails can be done in a record time of 45 minutes and more than 14,500 cadets have so far been trained on the Gorch Fock. In 1996 the Gorch Fock dropped anchor in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, South Africa.

Both ship and rigging are still in excellent condition.

Member of The Nautical Research Guild

Learn more about the Gorch Fock: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorch_Fock_(1958)