Deck (ship)

The main purpose of the upper or primary deck is structural, and only secondarily to provide weather-tightness and support people and equipment. The deck serves as the lid to the complex box girder which can be identified as the hull. It resists tension, compression, and racking forces. The deck's scantling is usually the same as the topsides, or might be heavier if the deck is expected to carry heavier loads (for example a container ship). The deck will be reinforced around deck fittings such as the capstan, cleats, or bollards.

Crew and passengers on the wraparound deck of RMS Queen Mary 2, an ocean liner

On ships with more than one level, deck refers to the level itself. The actual floor surface is called the sole, the term deck refers to a structural member tying the ships frames or ribs together over the keel. In modern ships, the interior decks are usually numbered from the primary deck, which is #1, downward and upward. So the first deck below the primary deck will be #2, and the first above the primary deck will be #A2 or #S2 (for "Above" or "Superstructure"). Some merchant ships may alternatively designate decks below the primary deck, usually machinery spaces, by numbers, and those above it, in the accommodation block, by letters. Ships may also call decks by common names, or (especially on cruise ships) may invent fanciful and romantic names for a specific deck or area of that specific ship, such as the Lido deck of the Princess Cruises' Love Boat.

Equipment mounted on deck, such as the ship's wheel, binnacle, fife rails, and so forth, may be collectively referred to as deck furniture. Weather decks in western designs evolved from having structures fore (forward or front) and aft (rear) of the ship mostly clear; in the 19th century, pilothouses/wheelhouses and deckhouses began to appear, eventually developing into the superstructure of modern ships. Eastern designs developed earlier, with efficient middle decks and minimalist fore and aft cabin structures across a range of designs.

Weather deck of the Swedish 17th-century warship Vasa looking aft toward the sterncastle

In vessels having more than one deck there are various naming conventions, numerically, alphabetically, etc. However, there are also various common historical names and types of decks:

• 01 level is the term used in naval services to refer to the deck above the main deck. The next higher decks are referred to as the 02 level, the 03 level, and so on. Although these are formally called decks, they are usually referred to as levels, because they are usually incomplete decks that do not extend all the way from the stem to the stern or across the ship.[2]
• Afterdeck an open deck area toward the stern-aft.
• Berth deck: (naval) A deck next below the gun deck, where the hammocks of the crew are slung.[3]
• Boat deck: Especially on ships with sponsons, the deck area where lifeboats or the ship's gig are stored.
• Boiler deck: (river steamers) The passenger deck above the vessel's boilers.
• Bridge deck: (a) The deck area including the helm and navigation station, and where the Officer of the Deck/Watch will be found, also known as the conn (b) An athwartships structure at the forward end of the cockpit with a deck, often somewhat lower than the primary deck, to prevent a pooping wave from entering through the companionway. May also refer to the deck of a bridge.
• Flight deck: (naval) A deck from which aircraft take off or land.
• Flush deck: Any continuous unbroken deck from stem to stern.
• Forecastle deck: A partial deck above the main deck under which the sailors have their berths, extending from the foremast to the bow.[3]
• Freeboard deck: assigned by a classification society to determine the ship's freeboard; usually the highest continuous deck, i.e. equivalent to the main deck.
• Gun deck: (naval) on a multi-decked vessel, a deck below the upper deck where the ships' cannon were carried.[3] The term originally referred to deck for which the primary function was the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides. However, on many smaller and unrated vessels the upper deck, forecastle and quarterdeck bore all of the cannons but were not referred to as the gun deck.
• Hangar deck: (naval) A deck aboard an aircraft carrier used to store and maintain aircraft.
• Half-deck: That portion of the deck next below the forecastle or quarterdeck which is between the mainmast and the cabin.
• Helicopter deck (heli or helo deck): Usually located near the stern and always kept clear of obstacles hazardous to a helicopter landing.
• Hurricane deck: (River Steamers, etc.), the upper deck, usually a light deck, erected above the frame of the hull (deriving its name from the wind that always seemed to blow on the deck).[4]
• Lido deck: Open area, typically at or near the stern of a passenger ship, housing the main outdoor swimming pool and sunbathing area.
• Lower deck: (a) the deck immediately over the hold, orig. only of a ship with two decks.[5] (b) synonym for berth deck. (c) alternative name for a secondary gun deck[3]
• Main deck: The principal deck of a vessel; in some ships the highest deck of the hull, usually but not always the weather deck; in sailing warships often a deck under the upper deck.[3]
• Middle or waist deck: The upper deck amidships, the working area of the deck.
• Orlop deck: The deck or part of a deck where the cables are stowed, usually below the waterline. It is the lowest deck in a ship.[6]
• Poop deck: The deck forming the roof of a poop or poop cabin, built on the upper deck and extending from the mizzenmast aft.
• Promenade deck: A "wrap-around porch" found on passenger ships and riverboats encircling the superstructure. This can have open railings or be enclosed in glass, or a combination. Often the entire level where this is located is referred to as the promenade deck.
• Quarterdeck: (a) The part of the upper deck abaft the mainmast, including the poop deck when there is one. Usually reserved for ship's officers, guests, and passengers. (b) (naval) The shipboard area, connected by a gangplank to a dock or another ship, where personnel arrive and depart a naval vessel in port. It is where the Officer of the Deck and his assistants are stationed, official visitors received, and personnel arrival/departure ceremonies conducted. In the event of multiple gangplanks, only one will lead to the official Quarterdeck; the others will be manned by Junior OODs or a Petty Officer of the Watch. The Quarterdeck also functions as an administrative point in port, where the ship's log is maintained, announcements are made via the 1MC (public address system; "Tannoy" in some navies), the ship's bell rung, etc. (c) (naval) Some ships have a space named "Quarterdeck", usually amidships, that normally, but situationally may not, be used for that purpose.
• Shelter deck: A lightly-constructed deck over the main deck of a ship covering a space open to the weather; offering some protection from the weather but not completely enclosed[7]
• Side-deck: The upper deck outboard of any structures such as a coachroof or doghouse, also called a breezeway
• Spar deck: In larger vessels during the age of sail, spare spars could be roped together to provide a temporary surface known as a "spar deck". These served as jury-rigged repairs for permanent decks, or as an additional platform under which to shelter goods or crew. The term was also informally applied to areas of the forecastle or quarterdeck where spare spars were stored by laying them flat against the existing decking. In the modern era the term has been used to describe the uppermost deck on flush decked vessels.[8] On Great Lakes bulk freighters this is the term used for the deck over the cargo holds.
• Steerage: The lower deck of a ship, where the cargo is stored above the closed hold. In the late 19th and early 20th century, steamship steerage decks were used to provide the lowest cost and lowest class of travel.

The sun deck of MS Mariella.

• Sundeck: A deck onboard passenger watercraft used for suntanning. .
• Sweep deck: (naval) The aftmost deck on a minesweeper, set close to the waterline for ease in launch and recovery of equipment.
• Topgallant forecastle deck: Any raised deck occurring above the forecastle deck (see above).
• Tween deck: the storage space between the hold and the main deck, often retractable.
• Upper deck: The highest deck of the hull, extending from stem to stern.
• Vehicle deck: (naval) aboard amphibious assault ships the deck or decks used to carry vehicles, aboard civilian ferries and other commercial vessels a deck used for a similar purpose.
• Weather deck: (a) Any deck exposed to the outside.[9] (b) The windward side-decks.
• Well deck: (a) An exposed deck (weather deck) lower than decks fore and aft.[10] In particular it is one enclosed by bulwarks limiting flow of water and thus drainage.[11] (b) (Modern naval) A hangar-like deck located at the waterline in the stern of some amphibious assault ships, also known as a well dock. By taking on water the ship can lower the stern, flooding the well deck and allowing boats and landing craft to dock within the ship.

• The history of the deck in old North European ships and languages
• Equipment on forecastle deck of ship.