Deck planking

Status
Not open for further replies.
i do not want to put out the wrong information and as Gary pointed out i did not give a time frame OR type of vessel built. Decking can range in any width or thickness depends on where the ship was built, what type of ship it is and when it was built and the preferences of the client and builder.
for example here is a contract between a builder and client dated around 1800 to 1830ish in a shipyard in Quebec Canada

this is for a Great Lakes ship intended for cargo and it is a ship of 160 tons and 79 feet from stem to stern and 22 feet wide.

here the client and builder are very specific on details. On this ship the decking is Oak 7 inch wide X 2 1/2 thick
this does not mean ALL ships were built exactly this way.

Clipper ships of 1850 built decks different from a war ship of 1776, lake schooners may of been different than ocean going schooners. Do not take this information as a general rule. However there may of been "general rules" and later on in wooden ship building everything may very well have been standardized.

scantlings 1.jpgscantlings 2.jpg
 
garyshipwright said:
How wide and thick was the planking on a 74 gun ship in 1780?
Click to expand...


tell us because we need that information that is not saying a model builder will follow that but i believe the correct historical information is needed and any builder can decide how exact they want to build a model
 
Clair G said:
I got one... at 150th scale I need opinions on how wide and long to make planks. Not bein my normal smartash self, Im really asking
because I dont know. I want it to look nice but lets face it, scaled planks would probably have to be cut by a trained flea circus.
Click to expand...


what type of ship and when and where was it built
 
clipper ships circa 1850s decking averages 3 1/2 inches thick and 6 to 8 inches wide however the records do show planks up to 10 inches on some ships were used, however that was rare.

Pine was the standard wood for decking.
 
I agree 100% Dave.... and for sure Ancre's drawings are just repesentations at best. Most likely the widths varied based on available timber and were cut to fit the space where the thickness was kept as consistent as possible.

again it depends as wooden ship building progressed over the years a better understanding of the structure of the ship was better understood and once saw mills came into use ship building became more of a science than an art/craft. So things became standardized. I think everything past 1800 was pretty much standard.
 
mrshanks said:
To give support for the mast probably. Man... look how thick those things are!!! Notice how the one on the left appears to be slightly wider than the one on the right. I am sure Ancre would never draw them this way.
Click to expand...


it kind of acted like a strong back and your right it was to add support to the ship and to areas that would take a lot of stress. Here is the model and you can see the heavy timbers used under the windlass knees and around the mast, also by the winchbow planks2.jpgbow sprit.jpgwinch2.jpg
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top