as  the  wardroom,  stateroom,  and  engine  room. Generally speaking, you do not use the word  room. For instance, you never refer to the space where you sleep as the bedroom or where you eat as the dining room. These spaces are called the   berthing compartment   or   space and the  messdeck. A  steel  deck  is  made  of  steel  plating  (strakes) running fore and aft. The outboard strake in the deck plating is composed of stringer plates that are welded or riveted to the side plates of the ship adding additional strength to the ship’s sides. Decks are supported by athwartships  deck  beams  and  by  fore-and-aft  deck girders. Further deck support is provided throughout the ship  by  vertical  steel  pillars  called    stanchions. Stanchions are mounted one above the other or one above a strength bulkhead. (The short posts used as lifeline supports also are called   stanchions.) Look at figure 8-2. Decks are usually slightly bowed from the gunwale to the centerline to provide for water drainage and to strengthen the deck. The arch so formed is called camber. A deck or part of a deck exposed to the weather is called a  weather deck  (fig. 8-3).  Bulwarks  are a sort of solid fence along the gunwale of the main (weather) deck.  The  bulwarks  are  fitted  with    freeing  ports (scuppers)  to  permit  water  to  run  off  during  heavy weather. A deck that extends from side to side and stem to stern is a   complete deck. On an aircraft carrier, the uppermost complete deck is the  flight deck  from which aircraft  take  off  and  land.  In  all  ships  but  aircraft carriers, the uppermost complete deck is the main deck. On an aircraft carrier, the hangar deck is the main deck. The hangar deck is the deck on which aircraft are stowed and serviced when not on the flight deck. The first complete deck below the main deck is the second deck; the next, the third deck; the next, the fourth deck; and so on.   Half decks   or   ‘tween decks   take the number of the deck above and have the fraction 1/2 added to them. A strength deck is just what the name implies. It is a complete deck (usually the main deck) designed to carry not only deck loads on it but also to withstand the hull stresses. A damage control deck (on most ships the second or third deck) is the lowest deck having access through the main transverse bulkheads, from forward to aft. This deck usually contains damage control main repair equipment in addition to the facilities for the control of flooding, sprinkling, and pumping if the ship is damaged. The following are definitions that relate to decks in modern ships (the location of each deck is also given): Companionways (ladders).  Companionways,  or ladders, lead from one deck level to another. They may or may not be covered by hatches. Flats. Flats are plating or gratings installed only to provide working or walking surfaces above bilges. Forecastle  (pronounced folk’ sel)  deck. The forecastle deck is the deck above the main deck at the bow. Ships that don’t have raised forecastles are called flush-deckers. In them, the part of the deck from the stem  to  just  abaft  the  anchor  windlass  is  the forecastle. Gallery deck. The gallery deck is the first half deck or partial deck below the flight deck. Half deck. The half deck is any partial deck between complete decks. Levels. A level is a general term used to designate deck heights above the main deck. The first level above the main deck is the 01 (pronounced oh-one) level, the second the 02 level, and so on. Different decks at a particular level, however, carry different names. For example, both a poop deck and a boat deck (usually) are on the 01 level. Platforms. Platforms are partial decks below the lowest complete deck. They are usually broken to admit machinery and are called   platform decks   or just platforms. They are numbered downward, as first platform, second platform, and so on. Poop deck. The poop deck is a partial deck above the main deck located all the way aft. A flush-decker does not have a poop deck, so the stern area of the main deck on a flush-decker is called the main deck aft, or the  fantail. Quarterdeck. The quarterdeck is not an actual deck, but an area designated by the CO for the conduct of official functions. It is the station of the officer of the deck in port, and its location depends on how the 8-4 Student Notes: