Ship Terminology

[Bunkerbarge]

Q

Quarter Deck: Traditionally is the part of the upper deck that is aft of the main mast.

Quarters: The living accommodation part of the vessel.

Quoin: A wooden wedge put under barrels or logs to prevent them from rolling when under way.

Quoit: A disc made from wood used in the game of Deck Quoits. The disc is slid at a target with a pusher in a similar manner to bowls but of course the quoit will not roll away.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

R

Racking: A distortion of the hull caused by collision or grounding.

Rail: Is the wooden or metal capping of the bulwarks or handrails.

Raised Foc’s’le: A superstructure at the bow built up above the normal Foc’s’le deck level.

Rake: Is a line inclined from the vertical or horizontal and is used to describe the degree of deviation. i.e. a heavily raked bow.

Rapsons Slide: A mechanism used in ships steering gear that gives the feedback of a prime mover position to the control input linkage.

Reefer Ship: Slang for a refrigerated cargo vessel.

Reeve: Is a rope passing through a wooden or metal block.

Registered Length: Is the length measured from the foreside of the stem post to the aft side of the stern post.

Reserve Buoyancy: Compartments designed within the vessels hull structure, sealed and unused, that add to the buoyancy of the vessel.

Rider: A turn of rope on the capstan or warping end, which has jumped across another turn causing the rope to lock up or jam.

Riding Lights: Another term for the Anchor Lights that must be illuminated when at anchor.

Rig: General term for a derrick or lifting gear.

Rigger: A rank referring to someone who tends to the vessels wires and ropes. Little used nowadays but common on sailing vessels.

Rise of Floor: Is the height of the bottom shell plating above the base line. The rise of the floor is measured at the moulded beam and indicates a sloping of the hull used to ensure drainage.

Rolling: Is rotational motion about a longitudinal axis.

Rolling Hatch Cover: A type of hatch cover mounted on wheels that operate on runners allowing the hatch cover to be rolled away from the hatch. Used a lot on Bulk Carriers that have an abundance of deck space.

Rope Guard: A fairing piece that covers up the joint between the propeller boss and the hull and is designed to prevent ropes from fouling the shaft. Often fitted with cutters to cut any rope that may be pulled onto it.

Rubbing Strake: A strake fitted externally to the line of the hull designed to make contact first with any other object such as a harbour wall or any other vessel and therefore allow easy repairs without having to affect the main hull plating.

Rudder: A means of steering the vessel. The three main categories are Balanced, Semi Balanced or Unbalanced and refer to the proportion of the blade forward and aft of the stock.

Rudder Bearing: The bearing within the ship that supports the weight of the rudder sometimes in conjunction with pintle bearings or sometimes it may be the only means of support.

Rudder Post: The after part of the stern frame which contains the pintle bearings for the support of the rudder. In a balanced rudder where a high percentage of the rudder is forward of the Rudder Stock the Sole Plate will be considerably more substantial.

Rudder Stock: The shaft about which the rudder is rotated by connection to the steering gear.

Rudder Stops: Physical pieces of metal that prevent the rudder being turned beyond, usually, about 38-40 degrees.

Rudder Trunk: Is a tubular structure through which the rudder stock passes into the hull and which usually houses the rudder gland.

Runner: A single rope block with a tackle on one end and a hook on the other.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

S (Part 1)

Sacrificial Anode: A Ring or piece of metal, usually zinc, placed on the underwater surface of a structure designed to corrode instead of the structure. This protects the structure itself from corrosion.

Saddle Tanks: Tanks, usually used for ballast, which are fitted over the upper surface of the main cargo tanks. They are usually triangular in transverse cross-section, increasing in depth towards the ships side. They are usually found on Bulk Carriers and Tankers and are used to increase the vessels center of gravity when the ship is not loaded.

Sagging: A condition of the hull where the center section is lower than the stem and stern. This could be brought about by a condition of loading or even wave action and is the opposite of Hogging.

Samson Post: A rigid vertical post used instead of a mast to support derricks.

Sanitary Pump (Sanny Pump): A pump used to continuously supply seawater for toilet flushing. Nowadays vacuum systems are more normal and toilets are flushed with fresh water.

Save All: A steel tray built around a piece of machinery to collect any leaks or drips and direct them to a bilge or slop tank.

Scantlings: The dimensions of the structural items in a vessel such as frames, plates stiffeners etc.

Schottel Rudder: A retractable rudder powered by a diesel engine.

Scoop Cooling: A system whereby a scoop protrudes below the hull and collects water to be used for cooling purposes in the machinery spaces. Used in conjunction with a normal seawater pump the system saves energy when the vessel is under way.

Scope: The length of free cable for a ship to swing on at anchor.

Screw Aperture: Space in the stern frame in which the propeller rotates.

Screw Effect: The sideways thrust generated by a single screw arrangement, which needs to be countered by the rudder when under way. More noticeable when manoeuvring and particularly when going astern, competent ship handlers will use the effect to steer the ship.

Screw Shaft (Tail Shaft): The aftermost section of shafting that the propeller is actually attached to.

Scrubbing: The cleaning of a gas by passing it through a device that sprays water through it. Used to remove acids from exhaust gas for either environmental purposes or to prepare the gas for use in inert cargo systems.

Scuppers: Drains in the edge of the decks, internal or external, to remove water.

Sea Anchor: A device for maintaining a boats head into the prevailing wind and waves. Usually in the form of a canvas bag looking like a parachute attached to the boat with a rope and left training in the boats wake.

Seam: A longitudinal edge joint in any plating.

Seatings: The structures built to mount any machinery such as shaft bearings, main machinery, auxiliary machinery etc.

Seaworthy: A ship with suitable strength, freeboard and stability to carry and deliver its cargo, crew and passengers to the destination in a safe and efficient manner.

Segregated Ballast: Ballast water maintained in a system that is not connected to the cargo systems in a tanker.

Self Trimming: A bulk cargo vessel that has large hatches and clear holds to permit the cargoes to self trim as it is loaded. An arrangement usually only found in smaller vessels.

Semi Balanced Rudder: A rudder arrangement whereby part of the rudder is forward of the turning axis. Usually in the region of 20-30% of the area of the rudder, if it was 50% of the surface it would be a balanced rudder.

Senhouse Slip: A quick release arrangement usually found on lifeboat gripes, designed to allow the release of the gripes without the need for tools.

Service Tanks: Tanks containing oil that has been heated and purified and is ready for service in the engine systems.

Settling Tanks: The tanks where fuel is stored prior to going through the separation process whereby the fuel is heated and any impurities and water is sludged off at the bottom.

Shackle: A device consisting of a U-shaped piece of metal with a screwed pin through the open end. Used to join rigging and lifting equipment.

Shaft Generator: A generator attached to the extended crankshaft of an engine either directly or via a gearbox or even belts.

Shaft Tunnel: A watertight compartment in the shape of a tunnel that connects the aft end of the machinery space with the Aft Peak bulkhead through which the main propulsion shafting runs.

Shear: A stress or strain that operates on the transverse planes of a loaded member that attempts to cause parallel displacement of those planes. (Honest!)

Shear Force: A force acting on a member which is tending to cause the effect described above.

Shear Pin: A pin located in a power train so designed to carry normal load but to fail under a prescribed overload condition, thereby protecting the other elements of the transmission.

Sheave: A grooved pulley wheel for use with belts or ropes in the transmission of force.

Sheave Block: A block of either wood or metal that contains a number of sheaves and are classified by the number of sheaves they contain.

Shedder Plate: A sloping plate fitted in the trough of a corrugated bulkhead in a cargo space to enable a better flow of dry bulk cargo enabling better discharge and easier cleaning in the hold.

Sheer: The longitudinal curvature of the deck between the fore and aft ends of the vessel and is actually measured from a line drawn parallel to the keel. Sheer is usually twice as much at the forward end as the aft end.

Sheer Strake: Is the line of hull plating directly below the main deck.

Shell: The outside hull plating.

Shell Expansion: A commonly referred to drawing which shows the entire hull plating laid out in a flat elevation. It contains all the plate detail such as penetrations and thickness.

Shelter Deck: A superstructure deck above the main deck, which is also continuous from stem to stern. Probably found more often in passenger ships.

Shifting Boards: These are boards of wood designed to be fitted into cargo holds when dry bulk cargo is being carried to prevent the shifting of the cargo during heavy seas.

Shoulder: The curved portion of a ships side at the break of the foc’s’le.

Shrouds: Are the wire ropes extending from the mast to the ships side to support the mast and are therefore part of the fixed rigging of the vessel. Usually attached by bottle screws so that the tension can be adjusted with age.

Side Scuttles: These are portholes or sidelights fitted in the ships hull.

Side Stringer: A longitudinal girder running alongside the inside of the shell plating.

Sill: 1) The height of an opening above the deck such as at a doorway to prevent the ingress of any water accumulated on the deck. 2) The upper edge of the base of a dock entrance that the gates locate against.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

S (Part 2)

Single Decker: A vessel with no other deck below the main weather deck.

Sister Beam: This is the main beam that runs longitudinally across a cargo hold that hatch boards would have been located on. Now superceded by the use of steel hatch covers.

Skeg: A projection from the hull of the ship that supports the end of the rudder.

Skew: This is the offset of the propeller blade from the vertical in the plane of rotation.

Skids: Runners set into the deck onto which objects can be chocked such as lifeboats or rafts.

Slamming: Occurs when the bow is lifted up by a significant wave and falls onto the face of the next one. Forces large enough to damage the vessel can result unless the speed is adjusted accordingly and is the main reason why the structure is stronger at the forward section of the hull.

Slip: Is basically the difference between the theoretical progression through the water without any losses, determined from the pitch and the RPM, compared to the actual progression.

Sluice Valve: A closing valve capable of being operated from above the loaded water line to enable the integrity of watertight compartments in the event of flooding.

Snatch Block: A single block designed to change the direction of the pull on a rope and is usually fitted with a removable side plate so that the rope can be looped over the sheeve without having to thread it through the block.

Snibs: Handles that can be operated from either side of a watertight door.

Snotter: A type of sling whereby an eye is formed at the end of a straight length for attaching a hook.

Snub: Is to turn a ship around by dropping an anchor whilst maintaining way on the vessel. Can be used for manoeuvring in an enclosed area but is more often an emergency procedure.

Soft Nosed Stem: Is a curved plate fitted above the waterline in the stem continuing the shape of the bow structure. It is designed to deform and buckle under impact thus preventing damage deeper in the ships structure.

Soot Blowers: Devices fitted in the exhaust intended to remove the build up of soot from the exhaust gasses. Usually in the form of a steam lance and usually operated once a day in the middle of the night.

Sound: (Verb) To measure the depth of liquid in a tank.

Sounding Pipe: The pipe through which a weighted tape is dropped to determine the depth of liquid in the tank.

Spectacle Frame: A frame used to support an external section of propeller shaft. Sometimes referred to as an “A” frame or a “P” frame depending on its configuration.

Spiling: Where the plate curves as it narrows to a point at either the stem or stern.

Sponson: Projections on the side of the hull added to improve stability and buoyancy quite often noted on the sides of Ro-Ro vessels to prevent excessive heeling.

Spreader: A metal or wooden beam used to splay the wires of a lift so that they lift the item vertically.

Springs: Ropes, usually wire, arranged to prevent the vessel moving forward and aft when tied up alongside as opposed to breast lines, which keep the vessel against the quay.

Spurling Pipes: These are the pipes that the anchor cables pass through from the windlass to the chain locker.

Square Propeller: A propeller where the pitch measurement equals the diameter.

Squat: An overall lowering of the hull and change in trim experienced at higher speeds. It depends on the hull form and the speed but it can play a part in draught considerations in shallow waters.

Stabiliser: These fall into the two main categories of passive and active. Passive includes such devices as bilge keels and stabiliser tanks and active includes stabiliser fins that extend from the ships hull and operate exactly as an aircraft wing to produce lift as they pass through the water and are tilted to create a righting moment on the hull.

Stanchion: A vertical support either of a deck or structure or to hold the horizontal members of handrails.

Starboard: The right hand side of the ship when facing forward and designated by a green light.

Stations: Ten equally spaced divisions along a vessels length between the aft and the forward perpendiculars. The forward one is numbered ten and the aft one is numbered zero.

Stays: Wires or ropes from the deck to the head of a mast to either provide support or prevent movement in the case of a boom.

Stealer Strake: A single wide strake of plates that replaces two narrow strakes as the width reduces towards the extremities of the hull.

Stem: The actual furthest forward part of the bow. Traditionally formed by a length of bent pipe called the stem post with strakes attached to either side of it.

Step: A circular fitting into which the foot of the mast is located.

Stern: The aft end of the vessel.

Stern Frame: A large cast piece which usually incorporates the location of the propeller stern tube, rudder pintle mountings and skeg and is attached to the aft end of the hull structure.

Stern Tube: A tube that contains the propeller shaft running in the stern bearings. Originally it would have contained wooden bearing staves of Lignum Vitae, lubricated and cooled by water but this was superseded by oil filled stern tubes with the shaft running in white metal bearings. Modern practice is returning to using plastic bearings cooled and lubricated by water.

Stiff: The opposite to tender and is a vessel with a large metacentric height and consequently a tendency to return to upright quickly.

Stiffener: A flat bar or plate attached to flat plate to reduce flexing.

Stock: A cross piece fitted to an anchor just below the ring and at right angles to the flukes to rotate the anchor on the sea bed and allow the flukes to locate. Modern practice is to use free flukes and a stockless arrangement as this is easier to house in the hull.

Stockless Anchor: An anchor without a stock so must have free flukes to be effective in operation. This type of anchor is designed so that the stock locates inside the hawse pipe.

Stokehold: In the days of coal fired boilers this was where the stockers would be feeding the coal into the boilers and the boilers would be located. Nowadays this area in an oil fired set up is called the boiler room.

Stopper: Is a short length of rope used to secure a much larger diameter rope which may be under tension whilst the larger rope is transferred to or from a winch or bollards.

Strake: Continuous longitudinal line of hull plating.

Stringers: strakes of plating at the ships sides.

Superstructure: The decked structure above the main deck, the outboard sides usually being formed by hull plating.

Swamp: Whereby a vessel is overcome with water, not necessarily however enough to sink it.

Swashplate: A longitudinal or transverse plate fitted internally in a tank to reduce the movement of the liquid in the tank and therefore the ‘Free Surface Effect”.

 

[wonwinglo]

Sacrificial Anode-Interesting subject this Richard and goes way back to the days when cars had side trims faced with copper or zinc,the sacrificial part of the zinc allied to the positive earth of the car was important,otherwise rust would spread very quickly due to the conductivity of the power source through the car bodywork,for anyone who had one of the old Hillman/Singer vehicles they will know what I mean,they were very prone to rust.

The automotive industry changed to negative earth,not that it made a lot of difference as the thickness of the metal defeated the object of the exercise.

It got so bad on these old cars that people used to fill the sills with engine oil and stick a bung in,I had one so filled,when you went around a corner you could feel the weight of the oil throwing to one side ! the problem here was that people used old spent engine oil which has so many impurities in to make it corrosive,which was rather counter productive.

Anyway a tale from motoring days of old when there were only an handful of cars on the road.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

T

Tabernacle: The socket into which the end of a hinged mast is located when it is lowered.

Table: A platform in a transverse direction either side of a mast where cargo derrick heels are located.

Tackle: A collection of wires, ropes and blocks used to operate a ships derrick.

Taffrail: A mainly decorative handrail placed over bulwarks of, usually, highly varnished teak.

Tailshaft: The aft most section of propulsion shaft to which is attached the propeller.

Tank Top: The plating that forms the top of the double bottom tanks and is effectively the floor of the machinery spaces.

Tare: Is the weight of the packing and container of goods deducted for the net weight to give the actual weight of the goods.

Telegraph: Communication means between the bridge and the machinery spaces to enable the manoeuvring of the propulsion machinery.

Telemotor System: The system between the bridge and the steering gear, which provides the signal to the prime mover of the rudder. Traditionally a chain system but nowadays would more likely be hydraulic or electrical.

Tender: 1) A smaller vessel supplying services to a much larger vessel. 2) A ship in an unstable condition with a small metacentric height which has a tendency to roll excessively due to a lack of righting moment.

TEU: Twenty Foot Equivalent Units, a measurement of Container ship capacity.

Thole: Vertical pegs of wood or metal inserted into the gunwhale of a rowing boat to replace a crutch or rowlock.

Three Island Ship: A vessel with a Poop, a bridge and a foc’s’le.

Thrusters: Propellers mounted in a transverse tunnel to generate a turning moment on the hull for use in manoeuvring in enclosed waters. Some vessels such as large cruise ships have bow and stern thrusters and can actually move sideways.

Tiller: A casting, forging, or fabricated structure located on the rudder stock to enable the stock to be turned.

TPC: Tonnes per Centimeter is a measurement of the quantity if cargo required to be loaded or unloaded to change a vessels draught by one centimeter.

Topping Wire: The wire used to control the height of a boom.

Tractor Tug: A tug whose propulsion is located forward of the centerline of the vessel and as such is usually in the form of a Voith Schneider or an Azimuth unit.

Tramp Ship: A vessel that does not operate on a regular liner run and does not have consistent cargoes. Unfairly thought of as dirty and unkempt vessels they are invariably in an equal condition to any other type of cargo ship.

Transom Stern: A stern structure that terminates with a flat transverse bulkhead.

Transverse: In a direction perpendicular to longitudinal attitudes.

Travelling Block: A block in a system of running rigging thatmoves with the running lines.

Tread: A dimension of the length of the keel.

Triatic Stay: A horizontal stay between the caps of two masts or a mast and for instance a funnel. Used for attaching blocks for signal halyards.

Trim: Is the inclination of the keel in a longitudinal direction. When this is level the vessel is said to be on an even keel. If the bow is lower the vessel is referred to as trimmed by the head.

Trundle Head: The circular head of the capstan into which the sockets are situated for locating the capstan bars.

Tumblehome: The inward curvature of shell plating at the top of the hull.

Turn of the Bilge: The curved area of the hull which connects the flat bottom to the vertical sides around the midship section.

Turnbuckle: A device for tensioning wires usually found in standing rigging. It consists of a central threaded section with a right hand thread on one end and a left hand thread on the other end, which locate into the end caps, attached to the rigging. When the center section is rotated it either draws the two ends together or allows them to move apart. Also known as a Bottlescrew.

Tweendecker: A popular construction of general cargo ships with one or more intermediate longitudinal decks. The idea being that different cargos can be carried in the different deck levels and they can even be fitted with internal hatches to separate the decks.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

U

Ullage: The space above a liquid in a tank or compartment. When determining tank levels by dipping the tank through the sounding pipe if it is a particularly viscous liquid such as fuel and you do not want to contaminate the sounding pipe then you may measure the ullage, the distance from the level of the liquid to the top of the tank.

Unbalanced Rudder: A rudder arrangement where the rudder stock is at the forward edge of the rudder hence all the surface area of the rudder acts behind the point of rotation.

Under Deck Tonnage: The volume of the vessel between the main deck and the tank tops.

Under Foot: When an anchor hangs down vertically because it has not reached the seabed.

Union Purchase: A method of using two derricks together to enable loads to be swung onto the quayside. It incorporates a ships derrick and a shoreside derrick attached to the load at the same time.

Upper Deck: Uppermost continuous deck or Main Deck.

Uptakes: The exhaust pipes inside the funnel spaces and the casing below.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

V

Vane Pump: A type of hydraulic pump commonly used nowadays as a steering gear prime mover. It consists of a stator connected to the ships structure and a rotor connected to the rudderstock. Between the two are radial vanes connected alternatively between the two so when hydraulic oil is pimped into the space between the vanes it rotates the rudder.

Veer and Haul: A process of allowing slack on a wire connected to a windlass or winch to enable the motor to speed up before taking up the slack and tensioning the rope.

Ventilator Cowl: The traditional method of ventilating machinery spaces. The cowls could either be directed by hand to obtain the maximum airflow or they could have a head on a bearing that rotated into the wind by the action of a vane fixed to the back.

Voith Schneider Propeller: A type of propeller rotating in a vertical axis which consists of a number or rotating vanes. The vanes adjust their angle of attack as they rotate so are used to generate a directional thrust. Incredibly manoeuvreable but not a very efficient method of propulsion so used a lot in vessels such as tugs.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

W

Waist: Upper deck area between the Foc’s’le and the Poop.

Wake: Contrary to popular opinion the wake is the mass of water dragged by a ship through the water in which the propeller actually rotates. Consequently the speed of the propeller through the wake is actually less than the speed of the ship.

Wall Sided Vessel: A ship with a vertical hull in the area of the waterline.

Warping End: The drum on the end of the windlass or capstan around which the rope is wound when heaving on the rope.

Warps: Ropes used in docking to position the vessel or manoeuvre it without the requirement for engines.

Wash: Waves caused by the passage of the vessel.

Wash Bulkhead: Internal bulkhead fitted within a tank to prevent the movement of the liquid in the tank. Usually perforated to allow flow but at a reduced rate.

Water Jet Propulsion: An arrangement whereby the main engine drives a pump instead of a propeller and the pump is arranged to eject a jet of water through a nozzle extending outside the hull. The nozzle can also be directional so providing steering as well as propulsion.

Waterline: The line around the hull that corresponds to the surface of the water at a specific draught and trim.

Waterlogged: A vessel full of water but remaining afloat.

Waterplane Area: The area generated if the hull was sliced at the waterline.

Waterplane Area Coefficient: A ratio of the Waterplane Area to a rectangle of the same length and breadth as the area. A vessel such as a tanker would have a very high coefficient whereas a fast refrigerated vessel would have much finer form so a lower coefficient.

Watertight Doors: Doors fitted below the waterline designed to be closed either locally or remotely, which would maintain the watertight integrity of the bulkhead and therefore the compartment.

Watertight Subdivision or Compartment: The volume between watertight bulkheads. Vessels nowadays such as passenger ships are classed as a two-compartment ship whereby they are designed to remain afloat and upright with two, even adjacent, compartments flooded.

Wave Resistance: The resistance to the hull passing through the water as a consequence of moving the waves out of the way to allow passage. This can be considerable in an older hull form whereby the bow wave comes high out of the water. The energy required to lift this water up and move it to one side is considerable and is a waste. Modern bulbous bow forms have a much smaller bow wave.

Weather Deck: The uppermost continuous deck.

Web: A plate arranged to support a frame and provide additional rigidity of the hull.

Weigh Anchor: Raise the anchor and stow the cable.

Wheelhouse: The structure on the navigating bridge deck which contains the navigating equipment.

Whelps: Projections on the warping ends of windlasses and capatans to prevent heaving ropes from slipping.

Winch: An apparatus used for hauling in or paying out ropes under load used in the handling of cargo, boats, mooring etc.

Windlass: The equipment used to haul and lower the anchor.

Winter Draught: The depth of water a vessel’s hull may be immersed to in a winter zone at certain times of the year. Identified on the classification societies load markings usually by the painted letters WD.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

X

X-Ray: Electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength between ultraviolet and gamma radiation which can be used to check the quality of welds and internal structural defects.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Y

Yard: A mast spar, tapering towards the ends.

Yaw: A vessel that fails to steer on a directed course.

Yawing: Another of the six degrees of freedom of movement of a vessel. It describes movement of a rotational nature about a vertical axis.

Yoke: A structural member that usually crosses a main support to impart the loading evenly on either side. Can also be fitted to a rudder when the rudder is operated in a push and pull steering gear arrangement.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Z



Zones: Divisions into which the ship is split up for the purposes of containing and fighting fires.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Do you have any idea how releived I am to have finally finished this project?

 

[bartley]

Mr. B-Barge, what a piece of work!

Although I usually stick to not quite finishing aircraft, I am straying for a change to a ship as my brother bought me one for Christmas, (I chose it-he paid for it-I thought it would be a nice project for the long winter nights).

It's the frigate President by Sergal, (any comments on this kit anyone?), and so far I've completed the hull but am now about to start on the planking, (scary to say the least as other than knowing where the first plank starts I haven't much of a clue-no change there then! If you, or anyone, has any advice re. planking it would be a help, ie. do you start at the pointy bit and work back or the blunty bit and work forward or in the middle? (I haven't learnt all the terminology yet!!!)

Thanks, Steve.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Bartley thanks for your comments, a lot of time went into this thread which I hope will be usefull to people who are in the process of sorting out the blunt end from the pointed end!!

As for planking, assuming you are talking about deck planking as opposed to hull planking, there are many differrent techniques and plenty of advice but at the end of the day you are going to have to sit down and work out your own plan of attack and most of it is common sense and logic.

First of all you need to decide what technique you are going to use for the caulking. A common one is to use black paper laid vertically between the planks then sanded back when the deck is finished. Another is using black plasticard and yet another is using black cotton. Finally a method I devised was to lay the planks with a gap which was then filled with a mixture of PVA glue and powder paint. This was then sanded back to the planks when the glue had dried.

Once you have made the decision of how you are going to do the caulking you have to decide on whether you are going to "Joggle" the plank ends or not. "Joggling" is the process of fitting the plank ends into the curved deck edge planks as found at the bow and stern. As I was simply repeating a plank pattern that I had on a pre-printed ply overlay I didn't joggle mine but I have to admit to being led a bit down the garden path by the overlay. Had I done more research at the time I may have decided that joggled planks would have been more authentic but I am reassured by the fact that Irish Steam Coasters were built very much to a budget and the cheapest techniques were used throughout construction.

Anyway your plan of attack is to then fit the edge planks around the deck you are covering and the planking that frames any deck fittings such as winches, derricks etc. This then leaves the area in the middle that has to have the longitudinal planks fitted to it. Always start in the centre and work away from the central plank towards either side. This will ensure that the planks are even port and stbd.

Have a look at my Ben Ain build thread here:

http://www.scale-models.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1711

to see how I did mine but at the end of the day make your own mind up as to how to tackle your own. The technique of using the PVA glue is not the easiest and I would not recommend it in the way I did the first deck (I was learning as I went along!) For subsequent decks I will be applying the caulking with a syringe along the plank edges to minimise the amount of rubbing down required afterwards.

 

[bartley]

Thanks for that BB, always nice to have some options and I'm not averse to putting my thinking cap on and figuring which is best for me but it's still a big help having experts advice because, for a start, I would never have thought of using black paper between the planks and I'm sure that the bit of contrast it would provide is just the sort of thing to make a model a bit special.

Cheers,

Steve.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

You're very welcome Steve but please don't have me down as an expert, this is my first time doing such a job as planking so I'm learning as well.

Black paper does seem to be quite a common technique so I'm sure it can work well for you and the results with any of the options is a world apart from a printed ply overlay.

One thing I did and I would recommend that you do is some sample peices before committing to the model. I wanted to experiment with differrent woods, techniques, caulking etc so I made a few samples before I decided on my preferred option.

 

[Skuta]

I am very impressed with your work, I know exactly how much time this sort of thing takes. As an Englishman living in Sweden and belonging to a Swedish model boat club I often get translation questions concerning nautical terms. I have been compiling a Swedish /English, English/Swedish dictionary. After 2 years I have completed the Swedish/English part. It has been extremly popular amongst the Swedish model ship builders becuase most information in books and on the webb is in English. Looking at your dictionary has given me even more words and phrases to translate. Hope this is Ok with you.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Skuta, please be my guest and rest assured they are not my words!! I only borrowed them from other people as well, however the definitions you are more than welcome to use.

I actually work with a Swedish Captain so if you ever need any more help feel free to ask.

 

[Skuta]

Richard

I will certainly get back to you and your Swedish Captain. You can ask him what "Skuta" means, it's a swedish word and no it'ts not a dirty word!