French warship1628 deck planking.

Guillaume Saucier · Feb 7, 2026

Hi everyone!
I'm building the Soleil Royal, and I can't find any information on deck planking layout. does any of you guys have
serious information on the topic? thank you in advance!

dockattner · Feb 7, 2026

Hello. I cannot speak to the SR. But here is the 'as built' weather deck on the 1628 Vasa:

31983772_DeckVasa.jpg.5b3c40d825f061f5b64a4047c9430869.jpg

-Waldemar- · Feb 7, 2026

.

Album de Colbert, ca. 1680:

First deck:

plate 25 - Plan of a vessel with a completed first deck illustration from the Atlas de Colbert...jpg

Second deck:

Third deck:

Good luck.

.

-Waldemar- · Feb 7, 2026

.

... and the highest decks:

plate 40 - Inside of a vessel lying on its hull illustration from the Atlas de_Colbert - (Meis...jpg

.

Guillaume Saucier · Feb 8, 2026

dockattner said:
Hello. I cannot speak to the SR. But here is the 'as built' weather deck on the 1628 Vasa:

View attachment 576595

Thank you very much

Guillaume Saucier · Feb 9, 2026

Hi everyone!!
Thanks for your answers!! much appreciated!!
I have looked for information regarding naval wood in 1628, and came across very interesting information!
Under Colbert, the wood for war ships was cut by hand only, in the forest OR in the shipyard directly!! All by hand!! can you imagine the work it represents?
I join photos of the text Google AI gave me. I am very sorry, but it is in French......
Thanks again for your help!!

Van · Feb 16, 2026

dockattner said:
Hello. I cannot speak to the SR. But here is the 'as built' weather deck on the 1628 Vasa:

View attachment 576595

That's a very interesting diagram. Don't think I've seen a model here with such a wide variation in the width of the planks.

dockattner · Feb 16, 2026

Van said:
That's a very interesting diagram. Don't think I've seen a model here with such a wide variation in the width of the planks.

As I understand it... it was the habit to simply use the available material. A premium was placed on reducing waste...

Van · Feb 16, 2026

dockattner said:
As I understand it... it was the habit to simply use the available material. A premium was placed on reducing waste...

I'm sure that's true as well as being commonsensical. Just that I haven't seen it on any ship models that I recall.

-Waldemar- · Feb 16, 2026

Van said:
I'm sure that's true as well as being commonsensical. Just that I haven't seen it on any ship models that I recall.

This issue, i.e. the more or less uniform width of deck planks, may be more complicated if we take into account that it was only around that time that mechanical saws began to be widely used for cutting timber. And, of course, this introduction was uneven across different regions of the continent.

But what is much worse is the fact that model makers, copying each other, often arrange the deck planks in a perfect brickwork pattern

, thus effectively annihilating the positive impressions made by models that are otherwise convincing in other respects.