Time Off!

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Colin

 

We seem to have lost a few postings?……..Engine room etc?

 

Strange?

 

Bob

[Gareth JonesParticipant @garethjones79649]

Lovely set of pictures Colin, I especially liked the ones of the propeller blades but it was difficult to judge the scale. I would have imagined they would be much bigger than they appear. However the photos that caused me great concern are the ones showing the deck planking.

 

Earlier this year my wife and I attended a model boat show in Menston near Leeds. We were only attending as visitors, not exhibitors, but my wife took her restored model Sharpie, Secret Princess, as she wished to show it to a friend who we knew would be at the show. The model is a 30 inch free sailing yacht originally built in the 1950’s and a view of the deck is shown in the photo below..

 

It attracted quite a lot of attention and most people were very impressed by the standard of restoration work Elizabeth had carried out. However one particular individual was very critical of the deck planking, because there were only two continuous planks between adjacent joints. He was adament this was wrong, it did not comply with Lloyds insurance regulations and no boats were ever built like that. Despite my wife’s protestation that it was a ‘toy’ yacht and not intended to be a scale model, the critic insisted that to do it properly, she should remark the deck with three continuous planks between each set of joints.

 

The pictures of the Queen Mary clearly show that there is only one continuous plank between each set of joints. This leads me to the inescapable conclusion that the deck of the Queen Mary has been built wrongly and the ship must be unsafe if it does not comply with Lloyds rules. The ship should be withdrawn from service immediately. I feel I must tell someone, Cunard and Lloyds at least. I have already lost a nights sleep over this, who should I inform Colin?

 

Sorry Colin, just realised this is in the wrong place, should be under Full sized ships – Queen Mary

 

Edited By Gareth Jones on 11/10/2011 17:09:42

Edited By Gareth Jones on 11/10/2011 17:32:11

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Gareth,

Yes, I noticed the deck plank spacing too, it is certainly not conventional practice – more a joinery exercise I think! However the QM2 planking is something of a cosmetic amenity as many modern ships don’t have any planking at all.

Also the planks themselves were quite short. Whether they were also as thick as two planks is hard to say!

 

QM2 has a butt joint every other plank but when I looked up some photos of the Thomson Celebration, (ex Noordam) built in the late 1980s there are two planks between each butt joint and the planks are much longer. I also have some photos of a section of planking on the old Queen Mary which has three planks between adjacent butts so it seems that anything goes (or went).. Of course deck planking on large passenger ships is simply bolted to the underlying steel deck and does not contribute to structural strength. On traditional ocean liners and iindeed on other vessels. the planking was a means of insulating the accommodation beneath from temperature extremes.

 

There may well have been rules for wooden ships where the planking contributed to the structural strength of the vessel but many so called ‘expers’ such as the one you mention have probably got the wrong end of the stick (plank) anyway!

 

The propeller blades were indeed rather smaller than I would have expected but overall the diameter of the prop is 6 metres, slightly more in fact than those on the original Queen Mary.

 

Glad you liked the photos.

 

Colin

 

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

When I was an apprentice at Craven Brothers Ltd, a giant machine tool factory in Stockport, in the 50`s, there was a propellor machining machine being developed on the shop floor

 

Being a lad of 17 years, I was surprised that the profile being copied was only made of wood! The machining marks were just as those on your pictures

 

Bob….Eng (Ret)

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Bob,

 

I think wooden formers were not unusual. Despite what the experts say, propellor design still seems to be something of a black art even now.

 

When they re engined the QE2 they added device called Grimm wheels behind the propellors which were supposed to enhance the thrust. They fell off!

 

Colin

[Peter FitnessParticipant @peterfitness34857]

Wonderful photos, Colin.

 

It is interesting to compare them with some of the photos I took aboard the QE2. The Cunard heritage is very evident.

 

Peter.

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