Watertight Doors In order to maintain the efficiency of a watertight

bulkhead it is desirable that it remains intact.

However in some instances it becomes necessary to provide

access between compartments on either side of a watertight
bulkhead and watertight doors are fitted for this purpose.

A particular example of this in cargo ships is the direct means of

access required between the engine room and the shaft tunnel.

In passenger ships watertight doors are more frequently found

where they allow passengers to pass between one point of the
accommodation and another.

Where a doorway is cut in the lower part of a watertight bulkhead

care must be taken to maintain the strength of the bulkhead.

The opening is to be framed and reinforced, if the vertical stiffeners

are cut in way of the opening.

If the stiffener spacing is increased to accommodate the opening,

the scantlings of the stiffeners on either side of the opening are
increased to give an equivalent strength to that of an unpierced
bulkhead.

The actual opening is kept as small as possible, the access to the

shaft tunnel being about 1000 to 1250 mm high and about 700 mm
wide. In passenger accommodation the openings would be
somewhat larger.

Mild steel or cast steel watertight doors fitted below the water line
are either of the vertical or horizontal sliding type.

A swinging hinged type of door could prove impossible to close in

the event of flooding and is not permitted.

The sliding door must be capable of operation when the ship is

listed 15°, and be opened or closed from the vicinity of the door as
well as from a position above the bulkhead deck.

At this remote control position an indicator must be provided to

show whether the door is open or closed.
Vertical sliding doors may be closed by a vertical screw thread
which is turned by a shaft extending above the bulkhead and fitted
with a crank handle.

This screw thread turns in a gunmetal nut attached to the top of the
door, and a crank handle is also provided at the door to allow it to
be closed from this position.

Often horizontal sliding doors are fitted, and these may have a
vertical shaft extending above the bulkhead deck, which may be
operated by hand from above the deck or at the door.

This can also be power driven by an electric motor and worm gear,
the vertical shaft working through bevel wheels, and horizontal
screwed shafts turning in bronze nuts on the door.

The horizontal sliding door may also be opened and closed by a

hydraulic ram with a hydraulic hand pump and with control at the
door and above the bulkhead deck (see Figure 18.3).

With the larger number of watertight doors fitted in passenger ships

the doors may be closed by mean of hydraulic power actuated by
remote control from a central position above the bulkhead deck.

When in place all watertight doors are given a hose test, but those
in a passenger ship are required to be tested under a head of water
extending to the bulkhead deck.

This may be done before the door is fitted in the ship. In approved
positions in the upper tween decks well above the waterline, hinged
watertight doors are permitted.

These may be similar to the weathertight doors fitted in

superstructures, but are to have gunmetal pins in the hinges.
HATCH COAMING
WEATHERTIGHT DOOR
 FORE AND AFT ARRANGEMENT OF A SHIP
Stem On many conventional ships a stem bar, which is a solid round
bar, is fitted from the keel to the waterline region, and a radiused
plate is fitted above the waterline to form the upper part of the
stem.
This forms what is referred to as a ‘soft nose’ stem, which in the
event of a collision will buckle under load, keeping the impact
damage to a minimum.
Older ships had solid bar stems which were riveted and of square
section, and as the stem had no rake it could cause considerable
damage on impact because of its rigidity.
Small ships such as tugs and trawlers may still have a solid stem bar
extending to the top of the bow, and some existing large passenger
ships may have steel castings or forgings forming the lower part of
the stem.
A specially designed bow is required for ships assigned Ice Class AC
notations and additional scantlings are required for the stems of
ships assigned other ice classes

The solid round bar is welded inside the keel plate at its
lower end, and inside the radiused stem plate at its upper
end, the shell being welded each side

It is necessary to support that part of the stem which is

formed by radiused plates with ‘breast hooks’, i.e.
horizontal plate webs, between the decks and below the
lowest deck, in order to reduce the unsupported span of
the stem.

Where the plate radius is large, further stiffening is

provided by a vertical stiffener on the centre line. The
thickness of these plates will be in excess of that required
for the side shell forward, but the thickness may taper to
that of the side shell at the stem head.
 AFTER END STRUCTURE

Aft End Structure Considerable attention is paid to the

overall design of the stern in order to improve flow into
and away from the propeller.

The cruiser stern was for many years the favoured stern
type for ocean going ships, but today most of these
vessels have a transom stern

A cruiser stern presents a more pleasant profile and is

hydrodynamically efficient, but the transom stern offers a
greater deck area aft, is a simpler construction, and can
also provide improved flow around the stern.

Many forms of rudder are available and the type and form
fitted is intended to give the best manoeuvring
characteristics.

Both the shape of the stern and the rudder type will
dictate the form of the stern frame, and this will be further
influenced by the required propeller size.

Of particular importance at the after end are the

arrangements which permit both the propeller shaft and
the rudder stock to pierce the intact watertight hull.

The safety of the ship may depend on these arrangements.

Where more than one screw propeller is to provide the
thrust required to propel the ship, bossings or ‘A’ brackets
will be fitted to support the outboard shafts.

Stern Construction As the cruiser stern overhang may be

subjected to large slamming forces a substantial
construction with adequate stiffening is required.
Solid floors are fitted at every frame space, and a heavy
centre line girder is fitted right aft at the shell and decks.

The stern plating is stiffened by cant frames or webs with

short cant beams supporting the decks and led to the
adjacent heavy transverse deck beam.

Further stiffening of the plating is provided, or adopted in

lieu of cant frames, by horizontal stringers extending to
the first transverse frame.

Cant frames are not required where the transom stern is

adopted, as the flat stern plating may be stiffened with
vertical stiffeners

Deep floors and a centre line girder are provided at the

lower region of the transom stern construction.
CRUSIER STERN
TRANSOM STERN