Decks-Is there a right way?

[farmerden]

There seems to be as many ways to deck a boat as there are decks.Looking at my deck I wonder if one can lay it out and still be of sound mind The other pics are of another local boat and again -different I gather we don't want pointed boards

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[gondolier88]

Have you a photo of the areas you need to deck? What timber are you using? Are you laying a proper deck, or veneering over a ply sub-deck? What 'look' are you after?

Greg

[farmerden]

No Greg- I started out looking at Rainer's deck proposal and didn't want to "hi-jack" his site so I was just curious about the various ways to deck a boat. Den

[S. Weaver]

This is a good thread, and I would be interested in some examples of "right" and "wrong," Greg. In attempting to reproduce a laid teak deck from the turn of the last century, it would be horrible to go through all that effort and then find out, to quote Edward, that it "was all wrong."

[PeteThePen1]

Hi Steve and fellow steamboaters

I don't know if there is a "correct" way to lay decks, but it seems to be verry common (based on anecdotal evidence I have collected) in the SBA fleet to lay a marine ply under deck and then lay the visible deck planks as veneers. The joins are then filled with Sikaflex sealant.

The thickness of the under deck probably will depend upon the weight it is to carry and how you plan to cramp down the veneer planks when glueing. Two good ways of doing the latter are screws with penny washers or nail based cable clips (with the nails replaced by screws) which are screwed into the under deck in the gap between the veners.

The veneers probably need to be about 3-5mm thick to allow sufficient depth of slot in which to apply the Sikaflex sealant. The sealant will also fill and hide the screw holes from the temporary fixings.

If you use penny washers/cable clamps to secure the veneers while the glue sets, it is probably best to use something like Gorilla Glue. This sets quite fast, and so allows you to do just one "plank" at a time rather than being forced to get them all done in one go. However, do make sure that the plank is well secured along all its length if using Gorilla Glue. The glue will froth and has enough power to shift pieces out of alignment if they are not well secured. (I speak from experience!)

Regards

Pete

[gondolier88]

I have drawn this little sketch up over the last week showing typical 1880-1940 launch and small yacht deck layouts. The top is a counter stern launch/yacht, and bottom transom-sterned boat.

The top is the way to lay decks on high class launches, with tapered deck planks to do away with unsightly stealer pieces, no king plank (although a structural one would be underneath) with all planks fitted to each other- try building a lightweight carvel boat with that sort of symmetry involved!! The light grey lines represent hooked scarph joints where caulked seams would be both unnecessary and unsightly. Fairly wide covering boards are the order of the day, with hooked scarphs again being in order.

The bottom layout is a more workboat finish, with parallel plank widths- although still fitted to the sheer, so each one is fitted with a different curve to keep plank widths parallel. There is a traditional king plank on this design, and again covering boards are wide, with inner covering boards having discreet scarphed joints rather than caulked seams.

For better ideas of construction Dixon Kemp's 'A Manual of Yacht and Boat Sailing' is a must have- ranging from £1200 per copy to £30 per copy depending on version, year of publishing, condition and if it's a modern reprint. I managed to get a mint condition one of John Leather's 8th Ed. version for less than £25 on eBay a few months back, typically going from between £80-£200. It has everything in there that you wonder about on those little historic details to put into your own boat, or just inspiration to see what was done 120 years ago on boats built with money no object, and also boats built for work in ports around Britain, and to some extent the US too.

Many GRP launches use ply sub-decks these days, which are absolutely great for trailable boats that spend 90% of their life on a trailer under a cover, however- as many boats are discovering now after the fashion for ply sub decks and teak veneers came in- is that the deck is really ply wood, and plywood's deficiencies are all due to it's end-grain vulnerability. In a sub-deck the ply end grain is subject to one of the worst joints on a boat- that of deck to sheer, and deck to coaming/superstructure. This can be overcome with dollops of epoxy, but this can cause it's own problems by creating stress raisers, especially in traditional construction boats.

The best solution for traditional construction boats are traditional construction decks!

However, no matter what the construction, there are ways of laying the deck out are 'right' and 'wrong'. There are a couple of other 'right' ways of laying traditional decks that I'll have a go at sketching too.

The great thing these days is that the internet can provide so much information- postcard archives, personal family albums, boatbuilder's blogs, photo sharing sites and forums such as this one- if you want to find out what the traditional deck layout for a 28ft counter sterned open launch from 1910 was, chances are you will probably find out!

Greg

[artemis]

Looking over my collection of wooden boatbuilding ("boat" being anything under 75') I found myself turning to that well known craftsman of the mid 1900s. Howard I. Chappelle who wrote Boatbuilding, A Complete Handbook of Wooden Boat Construction. It accurately reflects the wooden boats in use in the Americas from the 1850s to late 1900s. The following page with illustrations and text accurately reflects two basic styles with variations mentioned in the text.

A good library, whether it be online or hardcopy is a great aid in our hobby.

[S. Weaver]

Greg, Ron - many thanks! Greg, I was especially intrigued by the tapered plank, "Bristol-fashion" deck. I can't say that I have seen that before.

[PeteThePen1]

Just thought I would add a small suggestion for those looking for the "quick and dirty" way to get those beautiful plank shapes. (Of course, one needs to go down the plywood sub-deck route for this. As Greg mentions there are issues, but I notice that some of my books mention using a ply sub-deck instead of a lumber simply because it generally will not leak.)

Anyway, my point is that one can get the nice shapes by using tracing paper to create a template of the deck. It is then possible to draw it out on the tracing paper and then transfer it onto the veneer. It is not too difficult to cut curves and other "complicated" shapes into 5mm veneer. It can also be glued down without gaps for sealant if required. That would give one a deck surface that was water tight independently of the plywood beneath.

I suppose it all comes down to how much time and money one is prepared to invest in the finish.

Regards

Pete

[gondolier88]

I suppose it all comes down to how much time and money one is prepared to invest in the finish.

Regards

Pete

Yes, and no- a board of decent marine ply, or two for larger boats, can set you back £120/sheet, a couple of litres of decent epoxy and hardener can be £40 or more, then teak veneer will be teak prices, but for a typical 25ft'er you can expect to pay around £18/running metre at 6mm x 70mm planed- for which you would need around 10-15m- so around £350 for materials. Fitting is also not in itself either simple or time effective- first many lighweight deck beams and a couple of carlins are put in- each requiring accurate fitting and epoxying in, then the ply is fitted on top, as mentioned careful fitting of ply deck edges is a must, and the ply must be perfect as it's the deck proper in reality, and the teak will take the form of it's sub-deck. Then careful marking out and making the jigsaw pieces ensues- none of this is very difficult, or requires more than a modicum of skill which is it's single largest point of appeal, but let's just compare that for one moment to a properly laid deck;

First two or three fairly robust deck beams are fitted with the correct camber, but carlins aren't required on 95% of laid decks on launches. Accurate fitting is desirable, but not an essential requirement, 1/16" here or there can be sanded out on final sanding later on. As soon as deck beams are fitted, the covering boards are fitted, planking fitted in between and closed with a king plank, or king plank and covering boards are fitted and planked in-between depending on construction. A structural king plank tieing in the deck beams on launches is not normally required, unless a rig is carried for the odd occasion, or the launch is a work boat and proper samson post is fitted from above deck level to the top of the hog. Once the planks are dry fitted they are sanded, seams cleaned out (seams are profiled in before fitting), caulking cotton/oakum is payed in, then sealant applied, let to cure and sanded. Although overall time is longer (profiling planks, caulking, sealant curing etc.), the amount of time spent fitting the deck components is comparable to the sub-deck technique. Cost?- Sawn Teak at 18mm x 75mm is around £18/running metre, with the same requirements as before, Teak cost would be the same. 1 x bale of caulking cotton- around £6-8, sealant around £8-15 a tube depending on brand, with around 7 or 8 tubes to do the size of deck we're talking about, so around £100, overall cost around £300, plus stainless screws which these days aren't too expensive.

Of course the skill required to fit a deck of this type is of course on a higher level than the ply technique, but it is by no means rocket science, nor impossible for the amateur to complete, but will of course as even more time if attempted for the first time. So for around the same outlay financially, a bit more in time you can have a proper laid deck- if it takes your fancy!

Greg