Generally speaking, you do not use the word room. Forinstance, you never refer to the space where you sleep asthe bedroom or where you eat as the dining room. Thesespaces are called the berthing compartment or spaceand the messdeck.A steel deck is made of steel plating (strakes) runningfore and aft. The outboard strake in the deck plating iscomposed of stringer plates that are welded or riveted tothe side plates of the ship adding additional strength tothe ship’s sides. Decks are supported by athwartshipsdeck beams and by fore-and-aft deck girders. Furtherdeck support is provided throughout the ship by verticalsteel pillars called stanchions. Stanchions are mountedone above the other or one above a strength bulkhead.(The short posts used as lifeline supports also are calledstanchions.) Look at figure 8-2. Decks are usuallyslightly bowed from the gunwale to the centerline toprovide 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 iscalled a weather deck (fig. 8-3). Bulwarks are a sort ofsolid fence along the gunwale of the main (weather)deck. The bulwarks are fitted with freeing ports(scuppers) to permit water to run off during heavyweather.A deck that extends from side to side and stem tostern is a complete deck. On an aircraft carrier, theuppermost complete deck is the flight deckfrom whichaircraft take off and land. In all ships but aircraftcarriers, 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 stowedand serviced when not on the flight deck.The first complete deck below the main deck is thesecond deck; the next, the third deck; the next, the fourthdeck; and so on. Half decks or ‘tween decks take thenumber of the deck above and have the fraction 1/2added to them.A strength deck is just what the name implies. It is acomplete deck (usually the main deck) designed tocarry not only deck loads on it but also to withstand thehull stresses. A damage control deck (on most ships thesecond or third deck) is the lowest deck having accessthrough the main transverse bulkheads, from forward toaft. This deck usually contains damage control mainrepair equipment in addition to the facilities for thecontrol of flooding, sprinkling, and pumping if the shipis damaged.The following are definitions that relate to decks inmodern ships (the location of each deck is also given):Companionways (ladders). Companionways, orladders, lead from one deck level to another. Theymay or may not be covered by hatches.Flats. Flats are plating or gratings installed only toprovide working or walking surfaces above bilges.Forecastle (pronounced folk’ sel) deck. The forecastledeck is the deck above the main deck at the bow.Ships that don’t have raised forecastles are calledflush-deckers. In them, the part of the deck from thestem to just abaft the anchor windlass is theforecastle.Gallery deck. The gallery deck is the first half deck orpartial deck below the flight deck.Half deck. The half deck is any partial deck betweencomplete decks.Levels. A level is a general term used to designate deckheights above the main deck. The first level abovethe main deck is the 01 (pronounced oh-one) level,the second the 02 level, and so on. Different decks ata 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 lowestcomplete deck. They are usually broken to admitmachinery and are called platform decks or justplatforms. They are numbered downward, as firstplatform, second platform, and so on.Poop deck. The poop deck is a partial deck above themain deck located all the way aft. A flush-deckerdoes not have a poop deck, so the stern area of themain deck on a flush-decker is called the main deckaft, or the fantail.Quarterdeck. The quarterdeck is not an actual deck, butan area designated by the CO for the conduct ofofficial functions. It is the station of the officer ofthe deck in port, and its location depends on how theship is moored or which side of the ship is tied up tothe pier.8-4Student Notes:
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