Posted by Bruce Beveridge on May 31, 1999 at 18:03:00 in 199.179.161.124:
In Reply to: Expansion joint posted by Doug May on May 31, 1999 at 13:07:48:
The expansion joints were installed to give the ship some play in high seas and to protect the thinner plating of the superstructure. There would be much stress on the mid section of the ship when the bow and the stern were on a wave crest and the midship section high out of the water with the base of the wave below. This is also why there are so many doubling plates amidship. The expansion joints went down to the bottom of B deck. They were very similar to the expansion joints seen on bridges today. They consisted of brass sections along the deck with a center consisting of a long piece of leather. The slack was taken up by the leather inbetween the brass sides. There is a little more to it then that but this is a short explanation.
Bruce