I've received some requests on information on plating. I am trying to put together a reference on this. Assembly the data requires piecing information from many different sources together. It is not practicable for me to do a giant document jump and provide anything meaningful.
I have come to the conclusion that the hull was largely riveted in a misguided belief that the greater flexibility of a riveted hull than a welded hull was necessary for a ship of this size. I have not come across any references to that effect but that is the only conclusion I can come to. Some of the strake plates are welded. The structural members are welded. So inexperience in welding does not explain why the navy went to the cost and time of riveting the hull.
Here is a photo of the bow. I have labeled the strakes. There are several Q and R strakes at the bow. The current top of the boot topping is slightly below the designed waterline. So the K1 strake would not have been visible at all. The M strake is at the waterline for most of the hull length.
In this zone between about Frame 40 to Frame 2 the strakes are arranged in an inverted clapboard manner where the lower strake overlaps the strake above. Just forward of frame 40, the N strake overlaps the O strakes but aft this reverses with the O strake overlapping the N strake. Farther aft they switch to a butt alignment. The lower side strake switch to a butt alignment in this region as well.
A feature that is not visible is that the thickness of the strake plates vary. They are all 1/4" at the bow. They tend to get thinner immediately aft then get thicker aft. The visible plates range from 7/16" to 1-1/4". There are chamfers at the thickness transitions so the thickness variations are not apparent.
For modelers at 1:200 - 1:350 scale the thickness of the overlaps are around 1/1000" (hardly visible). The butting seams midship are hardly noticeable on the ship until you get really close.
For most of the length, the M and N strakes have a scarf joint.
The same kind of arrangement is at the stern as well.
Attachment:
Bow.jpg [ 221.57 KiB | Viewed 1976 times ]