Why do many modern ship's boat models show gratings instead of platforms fore and aft

[Fritzlindsay]

Why do some modern ships' boat models show gratings fore and aft instead of solid platforms?  So far I have not been able to find any contemporary models or plans that show other than solid board platforms.  The solid platforms are slightly sloped so would not accumulate water.  The purpose of having gratings on the ship is to  allow air below decks but what would be the purpose on a boat?    I would appreciate it if anyone can share information based on contemporary sources showing/describing gratings on a ship's boat.

Fritz 

[Kenchington]

I am not sure how "modern" you mean. Ships' boats since the turn of the millennium are often fully enclosed lifeboats or RIBs. If you are thinking of late-20th Century boats, I think the answer lies in psychology as much as practicality.

 

Gratings on ships can be ways to permit air circulation without having dangerous gaps in the decks but they had other purposes too. They provide better grip for a man's feet than planking can and so got used where there was need for some special stance: around the binnacle on a warship's bridge or to raise the helmsman on a big sailing ship, so that a larger wheel (more leverage) could be fitted (to give two but examples). From that, gratings become associated with command and control, hence with officers, and thereby become a mark of elite status -- a role enhanced by the greater cost and more elaborate appearance. Boats could be fitted with gratings in the sternsheets, while the oarsmen had their feet on simple floorboards, for example. That notion of gratings as being more "classy" is perpetuated in the yachting world, with teak gratings over GRP cockpit soles for those so inclined. I know that the same notion was long maintained for ships' boats and probably longer for elite ship's elite boats (Admiral's barges carried aboard major warships, for example) than for run-of-the-mill boats. I'd not be surprised if models extend the fashion even longer than their prototypes. Gratings just look so nautical.

 

Trevor

 

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 10:24 PM by Kenchington

[Fritzlindsay]

24 minutes ago, Kenchington said:

I am not sure how "modern" you mean. Ships' boats

Thanks for all the photos and apologies for the confusion Kenchington.  By modern I was referring to today's kits of 18th century boats.  A big problem would be for launches and longboats that had a davit aft.  The grating would have to be cut away for the davit to pass through to the chocked pin.   It would be less problematic if the platform was a series of simple planks.   In any case I am still searching for contemporary evidence of gratings ever being used instead of platforms on 17th to early 19th century ships' boats.  

Fritz

[chris watton]

I would only ever add gratings if the drawings/plans I am working from show them (Assuming your post is directed at my products) - I much prefer, from a production point of view to have no gratings, as they take much longer to produce than flat decks/floors - but if the drawings I work from show them, then they have to be included. They certainly are not added just for the hell of it.

[Fritzlindsay]

Thanks Chris 

What you say makes sense and am happy to know you were able to find plans that show them.  My quest to find any had been without success until about an hour ago.  I found a cutter plan that shows a grating in the bow and I am very happy that I finally did😀

Thanks again

 

[iMustBeCrazy]

2 hours ago, chris watton said:

but if the drawings I work from show them, then they have to be included

Which of course is the correct attitude.

 

7 hours ago, Fritzlindsay said:

Why do some modern ships' boat models show gratings fore and aft instead of solid platforms?

I've looked at a lot or drawings and contemporary models to see what the options were:

 

Fordeck:

Gratings

Planks athwart ships (across the boat) with or without gaps.

A single plank athwart ships.

Longitudinal planks with or without gaps.

Chevron Planking (^)  with or without gaps pointing forward or pointing aft.

 

Generally the 'quarterdeck' is planking without gaps, occasionality a grating.

 

And as usual, there will be exceptions.

 

[Dr PR]

Gratings are often placed on decks where water tends to puddle or flow. The gratings are mounted with the under surface some distance above the solid deck so water can flow beneath the grating. When rain or spray falls on the decks it runs through the holes in the gratings and then off to drains or scuppers at the side.

 

The purpose is to make places where you walk or sit dryer than they would be on a solid deck or bench. Standing watch or rowing a boat for hours standing in water is very unpleasant. Gratings help keep your feet a bit drier and warmer.

 

Any material will work for gratings, but wood remained popular even when metal became a practical choice. As mentioned, it is "fashionable" to have wooden gratings. But it is also easier for bosuns to make wooden gratings. When things are going slowly and something is needed to keep the crew busy (idle hands ...) you have the crew refinish the wooden gratings or make new ones.

[catopower]

The one thing that comes to mind for me regarding deck vs grating at the bow, is that if a wave hits the bow, a grating will allow any water to drop down to the bottom of the hull.

 

If there is a planked deck at the bow, the water will likely pour down the back of the trousers of the oarsman sitting at the front. Depending, of course, on the layout of the thwarts, etc.

Edited February 14 by catopower

[Fritzlindsay]

11 hours ago, catopower said:

a grating will allow any water to drop down to the bottom of the hull.

Very true, but so will a platform as they are sloped a couple degrees toward midships which would allow the water to run to the bottom of the boat.

Fritz