Finish of the Waterway

[RossR]

I am currently building the USF Essex.  The bulwarks on the gun deck will be painted yellow and the deck has been stained with honey oak stain.  After the bulwarks are planked I will be adding the waterway. 
 

should the waterway be painted the color of the bulwarks, or should it be stained like the deck?

 

 

[wmherbert]

I've always painted the waterways the color of the bulwarks rather than matching deck finish. I don't know if that is correct but it certainly is easier. 

Bill

[Ronald-V]

If you look at the pictures from the HMS Victory, they seem to be unpainted. If I understand correctly, they're part of the deck, a sort of L-shaped plank that starts on the deck and ends in the bulwarks. That's why I consider them a deck component and leave them bare (varnished, of course). This isn't based on facts, but on my own observations, haha. 😄

 

I hope someone with real knowledge will come along  

 

Edit:

 

I have included an illustration from Mondfeld's "historic ship models" where you can see how the waterway as I see it is part of the deck.

Obviously this isn't a picture of the ship you're working on (not even of the time period), but personally I don't think there would be much difference?

 

Edited yesterday at 12:55 PM by Ronald-V

[wefalck]

There are many different ways in which the waterways and covering boards were composed/constructed, depending on the period and the size of the ship. Sometimes, waterways and covering board were one piece of timber and in other cases there were two (as in the above drawing) or even three pieces. I have seen drawings/paintings of warship decks, where the waterways/covering boards were painted. In the case of the above drawing, it would be likely, that the covering board is painted, but the waterways are not - would be also easier to realise in a model.

[Dr PR]

I think the answer to the question lies in consideration of how much wear and tear the item will receive. There is a reason decks are not painted - decks get walked on and things dragged on them. Paint would be scratched off constantly, requiring unending repainting. Usually real decks on working ships were not finished. Navies even holystoned decks to grind off the tarnished surfaces. *

 

However, yachts and other vessels that see light service do often have "finished" decks.

 

So will the waterways get the same wear as the deck boards? If so I think they would not be painted.

 

* Note: An exception to this "rule" is that warships generally have large crews, and "idle hands are the Devil's workshop." So some things do get painted or polished just to keep the crew busy.