*blow*
*cough*
... only been away for 57 years and already that much dust?
*think*
What was my favorite pass-time here?
*scratichingthebeard*
Oh yes, there was someting - DEMOLITION!!!
... okokokokok ...
... I know, that the side entry port was already "finally" fixed, but it was stronger than me
...hihihihihihihi...
... it was only to do some castings ...
... but that drew my attention to the old question: the side entry port.
*uiuiuiuiuiuiuishiverofdispair*
Even though there seems to me that there are more hints (no proves) that it was not there at Trafalgar, it is a too nice detail
But if it was there, how was it closed? So I took up some old ideas and tried them out, here are some versions on a mere speculation basis.
Single board on the outside
Half doors opening outside:
Single board on the inside:
Half doors on the inside (like quarter galleries)
... just works out on the inside.
And a version like on fire ships as seen in construction and fitting: Half board on the bottom and half lids on the upper half.
Having had a discussion about that at MSW, I came to the following
personal conclusion.
As for my personal opinion seeing those tests:
- I also would discard the inside board/doors for the reason of stability as if seas crushes in, they tend to slam the door inwards too easily.
- The half lid doors are one more gap that could leak, on top the inside half doors have a slight problem with the deck because of the thumbledom and a even bigger one because of the hanging knees, that prevent opening more than 90�.
- The fire ship doors is a too sophisticated feature and I believe it would have been shown.
The "single outside board solution" would give some intersting thoughts. It just requires battens or a small recess like the gun ports inside the opening to be pressed /pulled against. This could be done by some eyebolts and some simple lashing from the inside. As it is not part of the structure and not a permanent fitting, this could explain why it is never represented in the models - it was seen as a mere board. Another hint could be the panelling of the inside of the door frame, this one looks much more like an internal fitting than an outside part of the ship.
But as mentioned before, these are pure speculations, hard proves still missing. But perhaps it allows to get a closer idea, what we are searching for, like special construction details. The only thing I found so far is, that NMM�s plans of Nelson and Caledonia show the usual gunport arrangement of eyebolts around the entry port, as if this port also was used for guns on occasions. And seen the concave outside of the hull, those breeching-eyebolts in the middle would already guarantee a secure lashing of the board against battens or recess ...
Here still is a small color variation of my personal favorite:
Yellow door at the end of 1804 before Nelson took possession of her and ...
... after he introduced his checker on the port lids
XXXDAn
thank you for sharing your "sweet Madness"
.
',you can make the blocks out of plastic also.
.
But seriously, incredible work. 
the strike would she won your shipyard??? 
.
