ModelMonkey wrote:
This is North Carolina. Assuming the decks were completed similarly, you can see that the planking does not extend to the edge of the deck, but to a small vertical plate which acts as a lip protecting the outer edge of the planking. Outboard of the plate, the steel deck is not planked, forming a trough known as a "waterway". This is true on main deck and planked superstructure decks.
The outer edge of the waterway has a vertical plate, too, much like a "kick-plate", flush with the side of the hull. It has a rounded pipe welded to the top of it - no sharp edges. Its height (the top of the pipe) is about even with the top of the planked deck.
Within the waterway, NOT on the wooden planking, are chocks, fireplugs and posts for railings (notice that the posts are fixed on a hinge so that they can swivel fore and aft - laid down during combat), among other features.
The waterway is the width of the chock. Also, notice that there is a tunnel-like opening under the chock, permitting water to pass fore and aft along the waterway under the chock.
Note, too, that in photo "007.jpg" there is a joint running traversely just aft of the "lower decks tour" vestibule. In person, the joint is very subtle but shows up well in this photo due to lighting. It is not certain whether the joint is new or original. North Carolina's planks are replaced as they wear out.
The planks are fixed to the deck by large, countersunk bolts which are laid along the centerline of the plank. The holes in the planks for the bolts are then plugged with wood and finished smoothly with the surface of the plank, thus, they are largely invisible.
Hope this helps.
Thank you (
THANK YOU), this is
AWESOME and exactly what I was looking for (obviously I need to go visit a few ships on my next trip East, and take some photos with my new 24.3MP camera: Nikon D750).
I am trying to get the edges of the decking to look correct for a Photo-etched insert for the wooden planking.
Now I need to find out how thick the Wooden Planks for the decking are, as I need to arrange for the Photo Etched Insert (which will be between .125" and .18" thick) to lay on the deck and superstructure at the right height so that it has the correct rim/lip next to the Waterway edge of the decks.
I thought about using a laser-cut wooden insert, and I suppose that the drawings for the deck inserts could be used to create wooden laser cut/etched inserts, but I prefer to paint the deck, rather than depend upon the wood for coloration and texture.
But thank you.
The USS Washington seems to have plenty of PE options covered for the fall of 1942 (Five Star's PE kit for the Washington covers both ships in the class for most of their careers - I wish that ALL of their PE kits were thus).
It is the USS South Dakota 1942 Guadalcanal conversion parts that I need to create that were giving me problems, AND I wanted to make sure that I got the Level 01 Superstructure decks of both kits correct (As that is really the only deck on the Washington that has a noticeable edge).
MB