A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull^[1] of a ship. A hull is the body of a Ship or Boat. It is a central concept in floating vessels as it provides the Buoyancy that keeps the vessel from sinking A ship /ʃɪp/ is a large vessel that floats on water Ships are generally distinguished from Boats based on size On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface. A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. Vessels often have more than one level both within the hull and in the superstructure above the primary deck which are similar to the floors of a multi-story building, and which are also referred to as decks, as are specific compartments and decks built over specific areas of the superstructure. (Decks for some purposes have specific names; see below.)

The deck of the Falls of Clyde is iron; a center strip is planked with wood as a sort of walkway. A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. For the Scottish waterfalls and wildlife reserve see Falls of Clyde (waterfalls. As is typical for a late 19th-c. vessel, several deckhouses may be seen.

Discussion

The purpose of the primary deck is structural, and only secondarily to provide weather-tightness, and to support people and equipment. The deck serves as the lid to the complex box girder which is the hull. It resists tension, compression, and racking forces. The deck's scantling is usually the same as the topsides, or might be heavier if the deck is expected to carry heavier loads (for example a container ship). Scantling is a measurement of prescribed size dimensions or cross sectional areas On an offshore Oil platform, Topsides refers to the surface hardware installed Container ships are Cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size containers in a technique called Containerization. The deck will be reinforced around deck fittings such as the capstan, cleats, or bollards. A capstan is a rotating machine used to apply Force to another element notably used on board ship and on dock walls for heaving-in or veering ropes cables and hawsers A bollard is a short vertical post typically found where large Ships dock

Crew and passengers on the wraparound deck of RMS Queen Mary 2, an ocean liner. Characteristics The Queen Mary 2 is the current Cunard Flagship and makes regular Transatlantic crossings An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one Seaport to another along regular long-distance Maritime routes according to a schedule

On ships with more than one level, deck refers to the level itself. The actual floor surface is called the sole, while the term floor refers to a structural member tying the ships frames or ribs together over the keel. In modern ships, the interior decks are usually numbered from the primary deck, which is #1, downward and upward. So the first deck below the primary deck will be #2, and the first above the primary deck will be #A2 or #S2 (for "Above" or "Superstructure"). However, ships may also call decks by common names, or (especially on cruise ships) may invent fanciful and romantic names for a specific deck or area of that specific ship, such as the Lido deck of the Princess Cruises' Love Boat. A cruise ship or cruise liner is a Passenger ship used for pleasure voyages where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience Princess Cruises is an American Cruise line, based in the Valencia section of the city of Santa Clarita, California, that

Equipment mounted on deck, such as the ship's wheel, binnacle, fife rails, and so forth, may be collectively referred to as deck furniture. A binnacle is a case or box on the deck of a Ship, generally mounted in front of the Helmsman,in which navigational instruments are placed for easy and Weather decks in western designs evolved from having structures fore and aft (forecastles and cabins) to mostly clear, then in the 19th century pilothouses and deckhouses began to appear, eventually developing into the superstructure of modern ships. Forecastle, also spelled fo'c's'le (ˈfoʊksəl originally meant the upper deck of a Sailing ship, forward of the Foremast. A cabin or berthing is an enclosed room generally on a Ship or an Aircraft. Eastern designs developed earlier, with efficient middle decks and minimalist fore and aft cabin structures across a range of designs.

Common names for decks

In vessels having more than one deck there are various naming conventions, numerically, alphabetically, etc. However, there are also a variety of common historical names and types of decks:

• Berth deck: [Naval] A deck next below the gun deck, where the hammocks of the crew are swung. A crew comprises a body or a class of people who work at a common activity generally in a structured or hierarchical organization
• Boat deck: Especially on ships with sponsons, the deck area where lifeboats or the ship's gig are stored. Sponsons are projections from the sides of a Watercraft, for protection stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats etc The captain's gig is a Boat used on naval ships as the captain's private taxi
• Boiler deck: (River Steamers) The deck on which the boilers are placed. A boiler is a closed vessel in which Water or other Fluid is heated
• Bridge deck: (a) The deck area including the helm and navigation station, and where the Officer of the Deck will be found, also known as the conn (b) An athwartships structure at the forward end of the cockpit with a deck, often somewhat lower than the primary deck, to prevent a pooping wave from entering through the companionway. The wheel of a Ship is the modern method of adjusting the angle of the Rudder, in turn changing the direction of the Boat or Ship. Officer of the Deck (OOD is a position in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard that confers certain authority and responsibility In the Royal Navy, the term cockpit originally referred to the area where the Coxswain was stationed A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. In the architecture of a Ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded
• Flight deck: [Naval] A deck from which aircraft take off or land. The flight deck of an Aircraft carrier is the surface from which its Aircraft take off and land essentially a miniature airfield at sea
• Flush deck: Any continuous, unbroken deck from stem to stern. In Naval architecture, a flush deck refers to when the upper deck of a vessel extends unbroken from stem to Stern.
• Gun deck: [Naval] a deck below the spar deck, on which the ship's guns are carried. The term gun deck originally referred to a deck aboard a Ship that was primarily used for the mounting of Cannon to be fired in Broadsides However In Sailing, a spar is also know as a round pole of wood or Metal used on a Sailing ship. If there are two gun decks, the upper one is called the main deck, the lower, the lower gun deck; if there are three, one is called the middle gun deck.
• Half-deck: That portion of the deck next below the spar deck which is between the mainmast and the cabin. The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts A cabin or berthing is an enclosed room generally on a Ship or an Aircraft.
• Helo deck: Usually located near the stern and always kept clear of obstacles hazardous to a helicopter landing. History Since 400 AD Chinese children have played with bamboo flying toys.
• Hurricane deck: (River Steamers, etc. ), the upper deck, usually a light deck, erected above the frame of the hull (deriving its name from the wind that always seemed to blow on the deck). ^[2]
• Main deck: The highest deck of the hull (also called the upper deck, see below), usually but not always the weather deck. Anything above the main deck is superstructure.
• Middle or Waist deck The upper deck amidships, the working area of the deck.
• Orlop deck: The deck or part of a deck where the cables are stowed, usually below the water line. The orlop deck is the lowest deck in a Ship (except for very old ships A cable is one or more Wires or Optical fibers bound together typically in a common protective jacket or sheath It is the lowest deck in a ship.
• Poop deck: The deck forming the roof of a poop or poop cabin, built on the upper deck and extending from the mizzenmast aft. In Naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that constitutes the Roof of a cabin built in the Aft (rear part of the superstructure of a The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts
• Promenade deck: A "wrap-around porch" found on passenger ships and riverboats encircling the superstructure. The promenade deck is a deck found on several types of Passenger ships and Riverboats It usually extends from bow to stern on both sides and includes areas A riverboat is Ship designed for Inland navigation. These vessels are usually less sturdy than ships built for the open seas with limited navigational and
• Quarter-deck: (a) The part of the upper deck abaft the mainmast, including the poop deck when there is one. Usually reserved for ship's officers, guests, and passengers. (b) [Naval] The area to which a gangway for officers and diplomatic guests to board the vessel leads. A gangway is the walkway between apartment buildings or houses a term most commonly used in Chicago. Also any entry point for personnel.
• Side-deck: The upper deck outboard of any structures such as a coachroof or doghouse, also called a breezeway
• Spar deck: (a) Same as the upper deck. An outboard motor is a propulsion system for smaller Boats General uses Outboard motors for a Boat are developed as a self-contained A doghouse, known in British English as a kennel, is a small Shed commonly built in the shape of a little House intended for a dog A breezeway is an architectural feature similar to a Hallway that allows the passage of a Breeze between structures to accommodate high winds allow aeration (b) Sometimes a light deck fitted over the upper deck.
• Sweep deck: [Naval] The aftmost deck on a minesweeper, set close to the waterline for ease in lauch and recovery of equipment. A minesweeper is a Naval Warship designed to counter the threat posed by Naval mines The dedicated purpose-built minesweeper first appeared during
• Tween deck: the storage space between the hold and the main deck, often retractable. Tweendeckers are general Cargo ships with two or sometimes three decks.
• Upper deck: The highest deck of the hull, extending from stem to stern. The stern is the rear or aft part of a Ship or Boat, technically defined as the area built up over the Sternpost, extending upwards from the Counter
• Weather deck: (a) Any deck exposed to the outside. (b) The windward side decks. Windward is the direction from which the wind is blowing at the time in question ^[3]
• Well deck: Naval] A hangar like deck located at the water line in the stern of some amphibious assault ships. A well deck or well dock is a hangar like deck located at the Waterline in the stern of some Amphibious assault ships By taking on water the By taking on water the ship can lower the stern flooding the well deck and allowing boats and amphibious landing craft to dock within the ship.

Construction

Methods in wood

A traditional wood deck would consist of planks laid fore and aft over beams and along carlins, the seams of which are caulked and paid with tar. Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. A yacht or other fancy boat might then have the deck canvased, with the fabric laid down in a thick layer of paint or sealant, and additional coats painted over. A textile is a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial Fibres often referred to as thread or Yarn. Paint is any Liquid, liquifiable or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque Solid The wash or apron boards form the joint between the deck planking and that of the topsides, and are caulked similarly.

Modern "constructed decks" are used primarily on fiberglass, composite, and cold-molded hulls. Fiberglass (also called fibreglass and glass fibre see Spelling differences) is material made from extremely fine Fibers of Glass. The under structure of beams and carlins is the same as above. The decking itself is usually multiple layers of marine-grade plywood, covered over with layers of fibreglass in a plastic resin such as epoxy or polyester overlapped onto the topsides of the hull. Plywood is a type of Engineered board made from thin sheets of Wood, called plies or veneers In Chemistry, epoxy or polyepoxide is a Thermosetting Epoxide Polymer that cures (polymerizes and crosslinks when mixed with a Polyester is a category of Polymers which contain the Ester Functional group in their main chain A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship.

Methods in metal

Generally speaking, the method outlined for "constructed decks" is most similar to metal decks. The M acro E xpansion T emplate A ttribute L anguage complements TAL, providing macros which allow the reuse of code across The deck plating is laid over metal beams and carlins and tacked temporarily in place. A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. The difficulty in metal construction is avoiding distortion of the plate while welding due to the high heat involved in the process. Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials usually Metals or Thermoplastics by causing coalescence. In Physics, heat, symbolized by Q, is Energy transferred from one body or system to another due to a difference in Temperature Welds are usually double pass, meaning each seam is welded twice, a time consuming process which may take longer than building the wood deck. But welds result in a waterproof deck which is strong and easily repairable. The deck structure is welded to the hull, making it structurally a single unit.

Because a metal deck, painted to reduce corrosion, can be quite slippery as well as picking up heat from the sun and being quite loud to work on, often a layer of wood decking or thick non-skid paint are applied to its surface. Corrosion means the breaking down of essential properties in a material due to Chemical reactions with its surroundings The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System.

Methods in fibreglass

The process for building a deck in fibreglass is the same as for building a hull: a female mould is built, a layer of gel coat is sprayed in, then layers of fibreglass in resin are built up to the required deck thickness (if the deck has a core, the outer skin layers of fibreglass and resin are laid, then the core material, and finally the inner skin layers. A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. ) The deck is removed from the mould and usually mechanically fastened to the hull.

Fibreglass decks are quite slick with their mirror-smooth surfaces, so a non-skid texture is often moulded into their surface, or non-skid pads glued down in working areas.

Rules of thumb to determine the deck scantlings:

The thickness of the decking affects how strong the hull is, and is directly related to how thick the skin of the hull itself is, which is of course related to how large the vessel is, the kind of work it is expected to do, and the kind of weather it may reasonably be expected to endure. A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a Ship. While a Naval Engineer or Architect may have precise methods of determining what the scantlings should be, traditional builders used previous experiences and simpler rules-of-thumb to determine how thick the deck should be built.

The numbers derived by these formulae gives a rough number for determining the average thickness of materials based on some crude hull measurements. Below the waterline the thickness should be approximately 115% of the result, while upper topsides and decks might be reduced to 85% of the result.

• In wood - For plank thickness in inches, LOA (Length OverAll) and Beam are measured in feet. For plank thickness in mm, LOA and Beam are measured in meters.
  • Plank thickness in inches =
  • Plank thickness in mm =
• In fiberglass - For skin thickness in inches, LWL (Length WaterLine) is in feet. For skin thickness in mm, LWL is in meters.
  • Skin thickness (inches) =
  • Skin thickness (mm) =
• In fiberglass sandwich - First determine the skin thickness as single skin, then multiply by modifiers for inner skin, outer skin, and core thicknesses. Cored decks might be modified even thicker, 2. 6-2. 7, to increase stiffness.
  • Inner skin modifier = 0. 3
  • Outer skin modifier = 0. 4
  • Core modifier = 2. 2

^[4]

Glossary

A brief glossary, by no means complete.

• athwartships - perpendicular to fore and aft.
• beam - a timber similar in use to a floor joist, which runs from one side of the hull to the other athwartships.
• boat - A smaller vessel able to be carried on the deck of a larger one.
• carlin - similar to a beam, except running in a fore and aft direction.
• caulk - to make water-tight by driving caulking (usually loose cotton fibers) into a seam, followed by a coarser fiber material such as oakum.
• core - in fibreglass construction, a layer between fiberglass skins, made of foam, end grain balsa, or other strengthening material to increase the stiffness of the deck.
• fore and aft - parallel to a line from the stem to the stern.
• gel coat - a heavily pigmented layer of plastic resin.
• oakum - loosely twisted hemp or jute or other crude fibre, sometimes treated with creosote or tar before use. Oakum is a preparation of Tarred Fibre used in Shipbuilding, forcaulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and thedeck planking of iron Jute is a long soft shiny Vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse strong threads
• pay - to pour into or fill up a seam so it is level with the top of the plank.
• plating - sheets of metal, generally simple flat pieces but may be formed into complex curvatures.
• pooping wave - A wave which comes over the stern and onto the deck.
• scantling - the critical dimensions of any element of the ship; so for the skin and deck of the hull it would be the thickness (of the planks, fibreglass layup, hull plating, etc. )
• seam - the space between two planks.
• ship - There are several definitions of ship, but in this case it is a vessel large enough to carry boats on deck. Seamen say it succintly - ships carry boats.
• stem - The timber at the front of the hulquarterl.
• stern - back end of the hull
• topsides - the upper surfaces of the hull from the waterline to the deck.

References

Anatomy of sailing ships