How is the deck fit on a sailboat. I assume there must be some bulkheads
for support. So, if the deck is plywood, when it gets to the hull ... how
is this fit.

Dumb question .......

On smaller boats like daysailers, the deck attaches to stringers (a
structural wood or fiberglas piece running along the hull edge)along
the hull and fastened with either screws or is glued.
For larger boats, weak hull-to-deck joints were the hallmark of poorly
built boats in the late 70s and early 80s. Some boats actually were
only glued at this joint. Slightly better ones were glued and riveted.
Best have inward turning flange on the hull with a downward turning
flange on the deck. There is 3m5200 between them and they are
thru-bolted (vertical bolts)every few inches through the toe-rail.
Hurricane damaged boats can reveal a lot about how this joint is done
as this is a common failure area due to extreme abrasion there. This
past year, I saw a boat that had banged against a piling so hard that
the aluminum rivets at the joint had broken and the hull and deck had
separated for 6'

The deck is fitted to deck beams. These are cross members. The deck beams
are carried on the end by internal structural member called a sheer
stringer. The deck itself is fastened to the deck beams and the sheer frame
(often called a clamp or inner gunwale) with screws and bonded with sealant.
--
Marshall and Jo Duhaime, Jr
Classic Boatworks of Maine
http://www.classicboatworksofmaine.com



How is the deck fit on a sailboat. I assume there must be some bulkheads
for support. So, if the deck is plywood, when it gets to the hull ... how
is this fit.

Dumb question .......