![Falls of Clyde deck](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Falls_of_Clyde_deck.jpg)
A deck is a permanent covering over a
compartment
Compartment may refer to:
Biology
* Compartment (anatomy), a space of connective tissue between muscles
* Compartment (chemistry), in which different parts of the same protein serves different functions
* Compartment (development), fields of cells ...
or a
hull of a
ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
. On a
boat
A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
Small boats are typically found on inl ...
or ship, the primary or upper deck is the horizontal structure that forms the "roof" of the hull, strengthening it and serving as the primary working surface. Vessels often have more than one level both within the hull and in the superstructure above the primary deck, similar to the floors of a multi-storey building, that are also referred to as decks, as are certain compartments and decks built over specific areas of the superstructure. Decks for some purposes have specific names.
Structure
The main purpose of the upper or primary deck is structural, and only secondarily to provide weather-tightness and support people and equipment. The deck serves as the lid to the complex box girder which can be identified as the hull. It resists
tension
Tension may refer to:
Science
* Psychological stress
* Tension (physics), a force related to the stretching of an object (the opposite of compression)
* Tension (geology), a stress which stretches rocks in two opposite directions
* Voltage or el ...
,
compression
Compression may refer to:
Physical science
*Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces
*Compression member, a structural element such as a column
*Compressibility, susceptibility to compression
* Gas compression
*Compression ratio, of a ...
, and racking forces. The deck's
scantling
Scantling is a measurement of prescribed size, dimensions, or cross sectional areas.
Shipping
In shipbuilding, the scantling refers to the collective dimensions of the framing (apart from the keel) to which planks or plates are attached to form th ...
is usually the same as the
topsides
The topsides on a boat, ship, watercraft, or floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, is that part of the hull (watercraft), hull between the waterline and the Deck (ship), deck.Rognaas, G., Xu, J., Lindseth, S., & Rosendahl, F. ( ...
, or might be heavier if the deck is expected to carry heavier loads (for example a
container ship
A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...
). The deck will be reinforced around deck fittings such as the
capstan,
cleats, or
bollards.
On ships with more than one level, 'deck' refers to the level itself. The actual floor surface is called the sole; the term 'deck' 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"). Some merchant ships may alternatively designate decks below the primary deck, usually machinery spaces, by numbers, and those above it, in the accommodation block, by letters. Ships may also call decks by common names, or (especially on
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...
s) may invent fanciful and romantic names for a specific deck or area of that specific ship, such as the ''
lido deck
In British English, a lido ( , ) is a public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun, or participate in water sports. On a cruise ship or ocean liner, the lido deck feature ...
'' of the
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the second largest cruise line by net revenue. It w ...
' ''Love Boat''.
Equipment mounted on deck, such as the ship's wheel,
binnacle
A binnacle is a waist-high case or stand on the deck of a ship, generally mounted in front of the helmsman, in which navigational instruments are placed for easy and quick reference as well as to protect the delicate instruments. Its traditional ...
,
fife rail A fife rail is a design element of a European-style sailing ship used to belay the ship's halyards at the base of a mast. When surrounding a mast, a fife rail is sometimes referred to specifically by the name of the mast with which it is associated ...
s, and so forth, may be collectively referred to as deck furniture. Weather decks in Western designs evolved from having structures fore (forward or front) and
aft (rear) of the ship mostly clear; in the 19th century, pilothouses/wheelhouses and
deckhouses began to appear, eventually developing into the superstructure of modern ships. Eastern designs developed earlier, with efficient middle decks and minimalist fore and aft cabin structures across a range of designs.
Common names for decks
![Pedro I of Brazil and Avilez](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Pedro_I_of_Brazil_and_Avilez.jpg)
In vessels having more than one deck there are various naming conventions, numerically, alphabetically, etc. However, there are also various common historical names and types of decks:
* 01 level is the term used in naval services to refer to the deck above the main deck. The next higher decks are referred to as the 02 level, the 03 level, and so on. Although these are formally called decks, they are usually referred to as levels, because they are usually incomplete decks that do not extend all the way from the
stem to the
stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
or across the ship.
*
Afterdeck
In naval architecture an afterdeck or after deck, or sometimes the aftdeck, aft deck or a-deck, is the open deck area toward the stern or aft back part of a ship or boat. The afterdeck can be used for a number of different purposes. Not all ship ...
an open deck area toward the stern-aft.
* Berth deck: (''
naval
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
'') A deck next below the gun deck, where the hammocks of the
crew
A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involved ...
are slung.
* Boat deck: Especially on ships with
sponson
Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing.
Watercraft
On watercraft, a spon ...
s, the deck area where lifeboats or the ship's
gig
Gig or GIG may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992)
* ''Gig'' (Northern Pikes album) (1993)
* ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy
* GIG, a character in ''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers'' ...
are stored.
* Boiler deck: (river steamers) The passenger deck above the vessel's
boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...
s.
* Bridge deck: (a) The deck area including the
helm
Helm may refer to:
Common meanings
* a ship's steering mechanism; see tiller and ship's wheel
* another term for helmsman
* an archaic term for a helmet, used as armor
Arts and entertainment
* Matt Helm, a character created by Donald Hamilton
* ...
and navigation station, and where the
Officer of the Deck/Watch will be found, also known as the ''
conn''. (b) An
athwartships structure at the forward end of the
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
with a deck, often somewhat lower than the primary deck, to prevent a
pooping wave from entering through the
companionway
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 entrance-hatch to the main cabins. A companionway may be secured by doors or, commonly in ...
. May also refer to the
deck of a
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
.
*
Flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopte ...
: (''
naval
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
'') A deck from which aircraft take off or land.
*
Flush deck
Flush deck is a term in naval architecture. It can refer to any deck of a ship which is continuous from stem to stern.
History
The flush deck design originated with rice ships built in Bengal Subah, Mughal India (modern Bangladesh), resulting ...
: Any continuous unbroken deck from stem to stern.
*
Forecastle deck: A partial deck above the main deck under which the sailors have their berths, extending from the foremast to the bow.
* Freeboard deck: assigned by a
classification society
A ship classification society or ship classification organisation is a non-governmental organization that establishes and maintains technical standards for the construction and operation of ships and offshore structures. Classification societies ...
to determine the ship's
freeboard
In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard
is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...
; usually the highest continuous deck, i.e. equivalent to the main deck.
*
Gun deck
The term gun deck used to refer to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides. The term is generally applied to decks enclosed under a roof; smaller and unrated vessels carried their guns ...
: (''
naval
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
'') on a multi-decked vessel, a deck below the upper deck where the ships' cannon were carried.
The term originally referred to deck for which the primary function was the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides. However, on many smaller and unrated vessels the upper deck, forecastle and quarterdeck bore all of the cannons but were not referred to as the gun deck.
*
Hangar deck
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
: (''
naval
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
'') A deck aboard an aircraft carrier used to store and maintain aircraft.
* Half-deck: That portion of the deck next below the forecastle or quarterdeck which is between the
mainmast
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation lig ...
and the
cabin.
*
Helicopter deck
A helicopter deck (or helo deck) is a helicopter pad on the deck of a ship, usually located on the stern and always clear of obstacles that would prove hazardous to a helicopter landing. In the United States Navy, it is commonly and properly ...
(heli or helo deck): Usually located near the stern and always kept clear of obstacles hazardous to a
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
landing.
* 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).
*
Lido deck
In British English, a lido ( , ) is a public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun, or participate in water sports. On a cruise ship or ocean liner, the lido deck feature ...
: Open area, typically at or near the stern of a passenger ship, housing the main outdoor swimming pool and sunbathing area.
* Lower deck: (a) the deck immediately over the hold, originally only of a ship with two decks. (b) synonym for berth deck. (c) alternative name for a secondary gun deck.
*
Main deck
The main deck of a ship is the uppermost complete deck extending from bow to stern. A steel ship's hull may be considered a structural beam with the main deck forming the upper flange of a box girder and the keel forming the lower strength me ...
: The principal deck of a vessel; in some ships the highest deck of the hull, usually but not always the weather deck; in sailing warships often a deck under the upper deck.
* Middle or waist deck: The upper deck amidships, the working area of the deck.
*
Orlop deck
The orlop is the lowest deck in a ship (except for very old ships). It is the deck or part of a deck where the cables are stowed, usually below the water line.
According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the word descends from Dutch
Dut ...
: The deck or part of a deck where the
cables are stowed, usually below the
waterline
The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...
. It is the lowest deck in a ship.
*
Poop deck
In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or " aft", part of the superstructure of a ship.
The name originates from the French word for stern, ''la poupe'', from Latin ''puppis''. Thus ...
: The deck forming the roof of a poop or poop cabin, built on the upper deck and extending from the
mizzenmast
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation lig ...
aft.
*
Promenade deck
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 open to the outside, resulting in a continuous outside walkway suitable for ''promen ...
: A "wrap-around porch" found on passenger ships and
riverboat
A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...
s encircling the superstructure. This can have open railings or be enclosed in glass, or a combination. Often the entire level where this is located is referred to as the promenade deck.
*
Quarterdeck: (a) The part of the upper deck
abaft
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...
the mainmast, including the poop deck when there is one. Usually reserved for ship's officers, guests, and passengers. (b) (''
naval
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
'') The shipboard area, connected by a gangplank to a dock or another ship, where personnel arrive and depart a naval vessel in port. It is where the Officer of the Deck and his assistants are stationed, official visitors received, and personnel arrival/departure ceremonies conducted. In the event of multiple gangplanks, only one will lead to the official Quarterdeck; the others will be manned by Junior OODs or a Petty Officer of the Watch. The Quarterdeck also functions as an administrative point in port, where the ship's log is maintained, announcements are made via an electronic public address system (called the "
1MC" on American navy and coast guard ships, and the "Tannoy" on others), the ship's bell rung, etc. (c) (''
naval
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
'') Some ships have a space named "quarterdeck", usually amidships, that normally, but situationally may not, be used for that purpose.
*Shelter deck: A lightly-constructed deck over the main deck of a ship covering a space open to the weather; offering some protection from the weather but not completely enclosed.
*
Side-deck
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, or provide aesthetic design variation. It is a pedestrian walkway because it is intend ...
: The upper deck outboard of any structures such as a coachroof or doghouse, also called a
breezeway.
* Spar deck: In larger vessels during the
age of sail, spare
spars could be roped together to provide a temporary surface known as a "spar deck". These served as jury-rigged repairs for permanent decks, or as an additional platform under which to shelter goods or crew. The term was also informally applied to areas of the
forecastle
The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...
or
quarterdeck where spare spars were stored by laying them flat against the existing decking. In the modern era the term has been used to describe the uppermost deck on
flush deck
Flush deck is a term in naval architecture. It can refer to any deck of a ship which is continuous from stem to stern.
History
The flush deck design originated with rice ships built in Bengal Subah, Mughal India (modern Bangladesh), resulting ...
ed vessels. On
Great Lakes bulk freighters this is the term used for the deck over the cargo holds.
*
Steerage
Steerage is a term for the lowest category of passenger accommodation in a ship. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century considerable numbers of persons travelled from their homeland to seek a new life elsewhere, in many cases North America ...
: The lower deck of a ship, where the cargo is stored above the closed hold. In the late 19th and early 20th century, steamship steerage decks were used to provide the lowest cost and lowest class of travel.
![Sun deck of Viking Mariella](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Sun_deck_of_Viking_Mariella.jpg)
* Sundeck: A deck onboard passenger watercraft used for suntanning.
* Sweep deck: (''
naval
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
'') The aftmost deck on a
minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
, set close to the waterline for ease in launch and recovery of equipment.
* Topgallant forecastle deck: Any raised deck occurring above the forecastle deck (see above).
* Tween deck: the storage space between the hold and the main deck, often retractable.
* Upper deck: The highest deck of the hull, extending from
stem to
stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
.
* Vehicle deck: (''
naval
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
'') aboard amphibious assault ships the deck or decks used to carry vehicles, aboard civilian ferries and other commercial vessels a deck used for a similar purpose.
* Weather deck: (a) Any deck exposed to the outside. (b) The
windward
Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...
side-deck
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, or provide aesthetic design variation. It is a pedestrian walkway because it is intend ...
s.
*
Well deck
In traditional nautical use, well decks were decks lower than decks fore and aft, usually at the main deck level, so that breaks appear in the main deck profile, as opposed to a flush deck profile. The term goes back to the days of sail. Late-20 ...
: (a) An exposed deck (weather deck) lower than decks fore and aft. In particular it is one enclosed by bulwarks limiting flow of water and thus drainage. (b) (''modern naval'') A hangar-like deck located at the
waterline
The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...
in the stern of some amphibious assault ships, also known as a
well dock
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
. By taking on water the ship can lower the stern, flooding the well deck and allowing boats and
landing craft to dock within the ship.
Construction
Methods in wood
A traditional
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
deck would consist of planks laid
fore and aft
A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing vessel rigged mainly with sails set along the line of the keel, rather than perpendicular to it as on a square rigged vessel.
Description
Fore-and-aft rigged sails include staysails, Bermuda rigged sails, ga ...
over
beams and along
carlins, the seams of which are
caulked and
paid with
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...
. A yacht or other fancy boat might then have the deck canvased, with the
fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not th ...
laid down in a thick layer of
paint
Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...
or sealant, and additional coats painted over. 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
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
, composite, and cold-molded hulls. 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
Epoxy is the family of basic components or cured end products of epoxy resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide functional group is also coll ...
or
polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...
overlapped onto the
topsides
The topsides on a boat, ship, watercraft, or floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, is that part of the hull (watercraft), hull between the waterline and the Deck (ship), deck.Rognaas, G., Xu, J., Lindseth, S., & Rosendahl, F. ( ...
of the hull.
Methods in metal
Generally speaking, the method outlined for "constructed decks" is most similar to
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
decks. The deck
plating
Plating is a surface covering in which a metal is deposited on a conductive surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improv ...
is laid over metal
beams and carlins and tacked temporarily in place. The difficulty in metal construction is avoiding distortion of the plate while
welding
Welding is a fabrication (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Welding is distinct from lower ...
due to the high
heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
involved in the process. Welds are usually double pass, meaning each seam is welded twice, a time-consuming process which may take longer than building the wood deck. However, 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
Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...
, can pick up heat from the
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
, and be quite slippery and noisy to work on, a layer of wood decking or thick
non-skid Non-skid is a surface applied to the deck of a ship to increase the coefficient of friction and reduce the probability of footwear or vehicle tires sliding along a smooth wet surface. When decks are painted for protection against wear and corrosi ...
paint is often applied to its surface.
Methods in fiberglass
The process for building a deck in fiberglass is the same as for building a hull: a female mould is built, a layer of
gel coat is sprayed in, then layers of fiberglass in resin are built up to the required deck thickness (if the deck has a
core
Core or cores may refer to:
Science and technology
* Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages
* Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding
* Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber
* Core, the centra ...
, the outer skin layers of fiberglass and resin are laid, then the core material, and finally the inner skin layers). The deck is removed from the mould and usually mechanically fastened to the hull.
Fiberglass 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. 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
– Source:
[Gerr, David; ''The Nature of Boats: Insights and esoterica for the nautically obsessed''; International Marine; 1992 International Marine; .]
Notes
External links
The history of the deck in old North European ships and languagesEquipment on forecastle deck of ship
{{Authority control
Ship compartments
Watercraft components
Nautical terminology